Innocence Lost
by Strawberri85
Summary: Retelling of the first film with some twists and turns along the way. What if Stefan had taken more from Maleficent than just her wings? Maleval.
1. Chapter 1 - Reunited

**A/N: This is my very first fan fiction so be gentle with me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.**

Chapter 1

"Maleficent?"

The sound broke through her peaceful slumber...a familiar voice, but one she had not heard for a long time. Wakening fully, she heard her name called again.

"Maleficent!"

Stefan. A frown crinkled the smooth, white skin at her brow and her lips twitched, though whether in a smile or a grimace, even she could not be sure. Either way, she could not resist true love's call. Stretching first her body - stiff from sleep - and then her wings, she took flight towards the edge of the moors, where she knew he would be waiting.

The moon was almost full, stars twinkling above as many of the fairy folk slept. Lights from those night-waking pixels and creatures of the moors glittered and flitted around beneath her. Then, she reached the boundary between her world...and his.

There he stood, much as he had been the last time she had seen him. A little older, perhaps, but still the same boy who had stolen her heart as a young girl. Her frown deepened at the sight of him, her anger and frustration at being abandoned by him for so long overpowering the jolt of pleasure she felt upon seeing him.

Allowing her wings to deposit her gently upon the ground, she landed behind him, just as he turned to leave. Her wings folded behind her with a soft rustle of feathers.

"So," she said, her tone as cold as her expression, "how is life with the humans?"

He turned slowly, hands raised in supplication or mollification - she was not sure which. Despite the coolness in her voice and the frown upon her beautiful features, she would never harm him. Never.

"Maleficent. I've come to warn you," he began. Her eyebrow twitched at his words, curiosity and anxiety fluttering about within her mind. "They mean to kill you." She lifted her chin and gazed at him, no fear upon her features. She had no need to ask who 'they' were. Humans. Fools. Had they not learnt their lesson the last time?

"King Henry will stop at nothing," his face pleaded with her, and her heart softened, as did her gaze. "Please. You have to trust me."

And she did. A smile transformed her features; her eyes softened and her eyebrows relaxed. She inclined her head to look him properly in the eye, and saw her love reflected back at her. She trusted him with her life, her heart. Everything she had.

Taking his hand gently in hers, she turned towards the Moors. "Come," she said softly, and he followed her into her homeland. She did not notice the tell-tale clanging of iron in the bag he carried over his shoulder, nor did she hear the rapid beating of his heart. She did not guess, could not know, just what was in store for her.


	2. Chapter 2 - Love

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**.

Chapter 2

Their fingers entwined as she lead him through the Moors towards their spot: the site of their first kiss. They spoke of many things, and the time apart seemed to fall away as they settled into comfortable conversation. At first, he told her of the king's orders for his men to bring him her head, but she waved his concerns away.

"I am not afraid of any human," she laughed. "Let them try!" Her wings ruffled behind her as she spoke, spreading and retracting as if to support her fearlessness. And so, their talked turned to other things. He told her about his move to the castle and his work there. Despite her misgivings about humans in general, and the King in particular, she was proud of him.

"So," she said as they reached her intended destination and she turned to face him with a smile , "you have achieved what you dreamed of."

"Not everything," he said in a low tone, gazing into her piercing eyes. His hand raised to cup her cheek and she leaned her head into his palm, shivering slightly at the touch. "Not yet, anyway."

"Oh?" she questioned with a twitch of one eyebrow.

"There's just one missing piece of the puzzle," he explained, his brown eyes darkening as he peered into the swirling green depths of hers. He leaned in. Their lips met and for he first time in a long time, Maleficent felt complete.

He deepened the kiss, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. Maleficent felt her eyelids flutter shut as a shiver of pleasure and anticipation ran through her body from her toes up to the tips of her wings. She raised one hand and ran her fingers through Stefan's mop of dark hair, smiling through the kiss as he let out a low moan at the action. She liked the sound, and liked even more that she had been the cause. He pulled her even closer, until their bodies were pressed together, heat rising between them. Then, he walked forwards, backing up her tall but slight form until she felt the rough bark of the tree trunk against her wings.

Teasingly, experimentally, Maleficent nipped at his lip with her sharp little teeth, drawing a soft hiss from him, and a muffled giggle from her. In response, his tongue flicked out and found its way between her lips. Maleficent felt her eyebrows rise at this unexpected action, never having been kissed like that before. But she was a quick learner and soon their tongues met in soft caresses.

Maleficent found her breath growing deeper, quicker. Her heart pounded and a hot flush rose on her face and across her chest. Pulling back for a moment to gasp for air, Maleficent opened her eyes to find Stefan gazing tenderly at her.

"Maleficent? Are you alright?" he asked courteously. He appeared to be finding it difficult to catch his breath as well. His eyes were heavy-lidded, his pupils wide with desire. Maleficent, who had never before experienced feelings like those raging through her body at that moment, nodded. Never one to be particularly garrulous anyway, just then she was at a complete loss for words. All she knew was: she never wanted this moment to end.

Stefan smiled sweetly at her and leaned in once more. Their lips met again, this time with more heat, more pressure, more urgency. Instead of gentle caresses, their tongues warred. Stefan pressed her body against the tree trunk. He entwined his fingers in her long, silky hair and Maleficent let out a soft groan.

Then, she felt his other hand sweep up the side of her body, fingers gently brushing against her soft curves. She shuddered, and felt a tingling begin to grow between her legs. Maleficent was inexperienced, not unschooled. She knew what was happening, knew enough that she wanted it to happen. And that she wanted it to happen with Stefan.

He ran his hand up her side again, with more pressure this time, lingering on the swell of her breast. His lips moved from hers to her neck. She tilted her head to the side, giving him more access. The sensation of his lips and tongue gently caressing her neck, her earlobes, her collarbone, was almost more than she could bear. Another moan escaped her lips.

Slowly, Stefan pulled back and she frowned at the unexpected loss of contact. Her eyes opened again and she peered at him. Had she done something wrong?

Stefan took her hand in his. "Come," he said simply, repeating her earlier instruction to him. He lead her to a clump of soft grass and moss, and laid her down on it. Her wings spread out beneath her and fluttered a little before settling. Tenderly, her laid down beside her and ran his fingers through the soft feathers. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure and she reached out for him.

His lips met hers softly before deepening the kiss. She felt his hand trail down her side, and continue moving down over her hip and down her leg. She felt her arousal rise at his touch, felt moisture leaking from her core. When his fingers reached the hem of her black dress, he pulled back slightly to look at her, his eyes questioning. Maleficent simply nodded, trembling slightly. Her hands ran over his shoulders and his back, exploring the hard muscle beneath his shirt. She longed for contact with his bare skin.

Her trembling increased when she felt his hand on her bare leg, felt it move upwards, lifting her dress as it trailed up to her thigh. Her breathing was becoming ragged. His fingers moved further up, over her hip, the dipped to trail over her inner thigh. Her legs spread as if of their own accord and his fingers brushed gently against her moist core. A whimper escaped her lips. A groan escaped his. She felt his hardness against her side and instinctively reached down towards it. Through his trousers, she rubbed her palm against him, eliciting another delicious groan.

Stefan momentarily broke the kiss to lift her upper body from the soft ground, pulling her dress up and over her head. She felt the cool night air against her bare skin, felt her nipples rise and harden. She flushed deeply at the knowledge that Stefan was seeing her unclothed for the first time. His gaze trailed over her body admiringly, and she felt his hardness twitch against her.

"Maleficent," he said, "you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." And, leaning in, he whispered into her ear, "I love you."

Then, swiftly, before she had a moment to digest his words, his lips dipped to close over one nipple, his fingers tweaking the other. Maleficent laid back in momentary ecstasy at the new sensations. But soon she longed once more for skin-on-skin contact. Sitting up, she pulled at his shirt, lifting it over his head before divesting him of his trousers. He laid his body gently over hers. His hand trailed once more between her thighs to her centre. This time, his fingers continued their exploration, finding the rigid nub and rubbing against it.

Maleficent gasped at his touch. Never had she expected to feel like she felt just then. And somehow, she knew, it was about to get so much better. Shifting from rubbing her with his finger to his thumb, his finger moved down to her core and pushed gently against her. She squirmed against that finger as it slowly pushed into her tight entrance. Little whimpers escaped from between her parted lips as the finger curled within her. She felt her pleasure building as finger and thumb worked in delicious harmony.

Suddenly, his hand was gone but almost immediately she felt the tip of his shaft rub against her core. Hovering above her, holding himself up on his forearms, he planted soft kisses on her lips.

"Maleficent," he said raggedly, "this is your first time. It's going to hurt. Are you...are you sure?"

Maleficent bit her lip, gazing deeply into his eyes. She nodded.

"Yes, Stefan, I'm sure. I...I love you."

And with that, Stefan entered her in one quick stroke. She jolted at the sudden searing pain. Her eyes squeezed shut and the air was dragged from her lungs in a short scream. Stefan stroked her hair lovingly and whispered apologies and calming words into her ear, allowing her a moment to adjust to the feeling of him inside her. When she lifted her head to kiss him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, he began to move. Her fingers pressed into his shoulders, nails digging in as she felt the pain give way to waves of rising pleasure, increasing with each stroke of his shaft inside her. She left out a long moan of pleasure. As he moved, their eyes met and their gaze held. Maleficent's heart was full to the point of bursting with love.

Stefan's strokes increased in depth and speed and moans began to slip from his mouth. Maleficient felt one hand slip between them, rubbing against her nub. She gasped at the increased sensation and her nails dragged down his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she buried her head in his shoulder, moving her hips instinctively in time with his thrusts. She could feel herself about to peak, just as Stefan grunted and shuddered, pulsing inside her. That pulsing pushed her over the edge and she threw her head back and cried out Stefan's name as wave upon wave of exquisite pleasure tore through her body.


	3. Chapter 3 - Danger

**Reviews very gratefully received.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Chapter 3

They lay like that until Stefan softened within her. He rolled onto his side next to her, their bodies still in close contact, and caressed her soft hair as she caught her breath, eyes still closed and a contented smile upon her lips. After a moment or two, her eyes fluttered open and her gaze found his.

"Stefan," she said softly, "I love you."

Instead of replying, Stefan leant over and kissed her on her forehead. Too spent to take much notice of - or to give much thought to - his lack of response, she rested her head against his shoulder and slipped into a contented sleep under his watchful gaze.

Some time later, Maleficent awoke to find herself alone. She sat up, confused. Then she noticed Stefan sitting a little way away, his back to her. It seemed like her was talking to himself, but the words were indistinct. Dragging herself into a sitting position, Maleficent felt muscles she didn't know existed protesting at the movement. She felt sore, but pleasantly so.

She dressed herself quickly and stepped lightly over to where Stefan was sitting. She noticed a bag open in front of him, a waterskin in his hand, but gave it little thought. He jumped when she sat beside him, letting out a loud curse and quickly dropping the waterskin, along with something else she had not noticed, into the bag. Maleficent's eyes widened and she shrank back slightly.

"Malefiecent!" he gasped. "You frightened the life out of me!"

A giggle escaped Maleficent's lips. "I apologise," she said, kissing his cheek and then leaning against his shoulder.

They sat in companionable silence. Stefan seemed lost in thought, but Maleficent was happy just to be near him. She felt...different...closer to him than she had ever felt to another living thing.

Moments passed. Then Stefan reached into his bag and retrieved the waterskin. He passed it to Maleficent.

"Thirsty?" He queried softly. She took it gratefully and took a long sip before handing it back. Her finger lingered on her lips as if she could still taste him on her. Feel him on her. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder with a contented sigh. She didn't even feel herself fall asleep...


	4. Chapter 4 - Pain

**Reviews gratefully received.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any characters.**

Chapter 4

Pain. That was the first thing she felt as the blanket of oblivion slipped away from her. Her body ached from top to bottom. But that paled in comparison to what she felt in her back. Her eyes opened and, as the pain intensified, a cry of agony escaped her lips.

"Aah- aaaah!" Through a veil of pain-induced disorientation, she vaguely noted that Stefan was nowhere to be seen. But even that thought was wiped away as a fresh wave of agony washed over her. She sat up, crying out in pain as she did so.

Reaching up with one hand, she brushed against...nothing. No wings. Slowly, painfully, with horror dawning on her, Maleficent turned her head to peer at her back. Her stomach turned to ice and her heart dropped to join it.

Her wings. Her beautiful wings. They were gone. They were gone! ...Stefan! Maleficent let out a guttural wail, like that of an injured animal. She was in no doubt as to who was responsible, and that pain cut through her chest as surely as any weapon. Mingled with the physical agony burning at the stumps where her wings had once been, the pain was almost too much for Maleficent to bear.

Her breaths came in short gasps. She looked around her as if seeking something, someone to help her. There was nothing. She was alone. Screams of agony and shock were torn for her. She curled her body into itself and screamed out her agony again and again, tears streaming down her face.

When her voice could take no more, the screaming turned into wails, which faded into hoarse, hacking sobs. She had no idea how long she remained curled up in anguish, but by the time her tears and energy ran out, the sun was high in the sky. It mocked her with its happy brightness. Despite the light - or perhaps to spite the light - Maleficent allowed herself to tumble into exhausted oblivion.

When she awoke, the sun was lower in the sky. The pain had not lessoned, but was more tolerable now that some of the initial shock had worn off. Her faery magic, she knew, would heal her physical wounds in short time. She just needed to rest. The pain in her heart, though, she knew would be with her for the rest of her life. Stefan had betrayed her. He had taken everything from her - her wings, her innocence, her trust. More tears slipped down her cheek as memories of the night before flooded her mind. Memories of his lips on hers, his hands on her body, the pleasure of his movements and their closeness when he was inside her.

"Love?" she whispered hoarsely to herself. Her breathing was still heavy from the pain, which came in waves of agony from her back, grief in her heart, and betrayal in her mind. "If that's love, then you can keep it!" she shrieked at the sun.

It smiled down upon her; un-phased, uncaring. Maleficent took deep breaths and pulled herself into a sitting position, gasping as the movement brought with it a fresh batch of pain. She knew she couldn't stay there on the ground forever. But where to go? At that moment, she wanted to see no other living thing...ever again. She had been damaged, broken, violated. How could she let anyone see her like this?

Eventually, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, she began to pull herself slowly to her feet, grunting in pain. Realisation dawned dully that she would have to walk to wherever she decided to go to hide away from everything. She picked up a stick from near her feet and infused in with magic. It grew into a great staff, which she used to lean on as she walked. The pain was extreme, her legs weak and trembling. After a few steps, Maleficent lowered herself once more to he ground, letting out small sounds with each throb from her back. And from her heart. But slowly she forced herself up, leant on the staff, and made the long, laborious journey through the Moors to the ruins in the north.

Darkness had once again overtaken the land by the time she arrived. At least the sun no longer smiled mockingly down on her. But now she was shivering, both from cold and shock. Maleficient made her way into the ruins, and sank down in a dark corner within. The night wore on, and still she sat, coldness - hardness - seeping its way through her entire being. She no longer felt like weeping. She had no more tears left to cry. She felt...empty.

She was startled by the sound of a bird just to her left. Looking up slowly, sluggishly, she saw a raven land on the nearby wall, watching her and cawing loudly. She blew softly in its direction, unable to muster the energy even to raise a hand. A trickle of magic struck at the bird's feet and off it flew. The action brought a fresh wave of grief. Flying. She would never again spread her glorious wings and take to the sky. Shrouding herself in that emptiness, she turned away and continued to sit, staring blankly into nothingness as dark thoughts swirled through her mind.


	5. Chapter 5 - Raven

**Reviews gratefully received.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 5

For many days, Maleficent remained hidden away in the ruins of the once-proud castle. She slept little, and ate nothing. The pain lessened day by day. In the place where her wings had been, at least. Her magic allowed her to heal more quickly than humans. As for the pain in her chest, however, it burned sharply with every breath she took, as surely as if his knife had slipped between her ribs and stabbed her through the heart.

She did no more crying. She had no tears left, and refused to allow herself to do so anyway. He did not deserve her tears. But her dark thoughts continued. As she had the previous night, Maleficent felt...different. No longer young and vibrant, instead she felt old and broken. Irrevocably damaged.

She wondered at his ability to appear so sincere, so..._loving_, all the while knowing exactly what he had planned for her. She wished he had simply killed her and had done with it. Anything - even death - was better than this.

It was some days later before she moved from the ruins, needing water. As she neared the lake, she heard it again. That infernal cawing. This time mingled with the barking of dogs and...shouting of men. Her heart plummeted. She wanted nothing to do with humans! But for some inexplicable reason, that terrified cawing drew her towards it. Reaching a clearing just outside the boundary of the Moors, she saw the cause of the sound. A raven was trapped beneath a net, being tormented by dogs and one jeering man, brandishing a club-like branch. Not wanting to get any closer, Maleficient instead released a trickle of magic.

"Into a man," she instructed. The raven began to shift and grow until a man stood up beneath the net, dirty and disheveled, and with bird features playing upon his face.

"Its a demon!" cried the man, and he ran for his life, dogs hot on his heels.

The man threw off the net and looked down at himself, then walked slowly towards Maleficent. Boldly, especially for one so recently a bird about to be mauled to death, he spoke to her.

"What have you done to my beautiful self?" he asked in lilting tones. She appraised him curiously, noting his with frame, his many scars, barely paying any heed to his lack of attire.

"Would you rather I had let him beat you to death?" she replied coolly, one eyebrow raised.

He checked himself out once more and glanced back at her. "I'm not certain," was his response. She felt like rolling her eyes, but refrained.

"Oh stop complaining," she muttered. "I saved your life."

The man paused, deep in thought. "Forgive me," he said eventually, holding her gaze.

"What do I call you?" Maleficent asked.

"Diaval. And in return for saving my life, I am your servant. Whatever you need." And he bowed his head towards her.

Maleficent contemplated the offer for a moment. She wanted no companion, wanted no one near her, especially one who looked so like a man - even if he was a raven.

"Wings," she said softy, never allowing her expression to change. "I need you to be my wings." Their eyes met, and the stare held for longer than she would have liked.

"I think I can accommodate you in that," he agreed finally.

"Good," she replied. Turning on her heel, she tossed her cloak behind him where it tangled itself over his head, and set of walking back towards the ruins, leaning on her staff for support as she still ached. "Follow me," was all she said. He followed.

When they reached the ruins, she instructed him to fly to the city and seek out Stefan, whom she described with a distasteful sneer. She needed to know what he was up to, though she wished she could simply forget him. A ripple of pain from her stumps and a heavy feeling in her chest reminded her that it was impossible to forget. Inconceivable to forgive.

Maleficent watched as Diaval, now once more in raven form, took to the skies. Whilst waiting for his return, she gathered necessary ingredients from the surrounding Moors. Mixing together poppy milk, valerian root, bowsellia and white willow bark in the shell of a huge nut, she added water from the lake. Adding heat with a touch of magic, she stirred the contents of the shell until all ingredients had combined into a pale milky fluid.

Just as she was about to take a sip, the fluttering of wings interrupted her. With a flick of her hand, Diaval landed on his feet and promptly tumbled to he floor at the unexpected change. This time, she did roll her eyes, observing him as he stood, glanced in irritation at her, and brushed himself off.

"That wasn't very nice, now, was it!" he said.

"Oh, stop complaining," she muttered , wondering at the pattern she could see emerging in their interactions. "Did you find...*him*? What did you see?" She couldn't bring herself to let his name play on her lips. The mere mention made her want to curl up in a ball and stay like that forever. But she didn't.

Diaval described what had taken place in the castle. As she listened to his explanation of Stefan's coronation, she felt her heart grow heavier, heavier, colder, colder. Rage boiled within her; her entire body trembled with the struggle of keeping it under control. Even with the effort, green magic still curled from her fingers.

"He did this...to me...so he could become king?" The magic strengthened as her anger grew. For a moment, she stood silently with her eyes closed, allowed it to consume her. Then, abruptly, she cold hold it in no more. She threw back her head and screamed into the sky, releasing a bolt of swirling green to the clouds above, which could be seen for miles around.

'See this, Stefan. And know...you _will_ pay for what you have done to me!'


	6. Chapter 6 - Comfort

**Hi all you lovely people who have been reading my story. I hope you're enjoying it! If you read this chapter, I would love love love it if you could take a mo to leave a review. Am a bit anxious about posting this one and would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Releasing her magic and extinguishing the pillar of green light, Maleficent rounded on Diaval, her eyes flashing.

"M...mistress?" he stammered, taking three steps backwards and finding that he had backed straight into a crumbled wall. Reaching him, she slammed both fists into the wall of either side of his head. Rocks and dust tumbled to the ground at his feet with the force of her ire. She needed to do...something...anything...to release the maelstrom of emotions boiling within her. Without any further warning, her lips crashed into Diaval's in a deep, forceful kiss. Her hands tangled in his hair and she pressed her body firmly against his. She didn't understand exactly what she was doing, or why, but at that moment she could think of nothing else to quiet the burning within her, the pain, and her racing thoughts.

Diaval slowly responded to the kiss, pressing himself against her in return and moaning softly. His hands found their way to her hair. Snapping her head back, Maleficent froze for a moment. Then she took hold of both of his wrists and forcefully removed them from her hair.

"Do _not_," she warned through gritted teeth, "touch me."

But instead of stopping then, Maleficent found herself pulling him round so that her body was pinned between his and the wall. She crushed her lips once more into his and reached swiftly into his trousers to feel his manhood already hard and twitching at her touch. She yanked down his trousers to reveal him. All the while, she was aware of him eyeing her somewhat warily. But she could hear his breath coming in short gasps at her touch. Men - even ones who were actually ravens - were apparently all the same.

Maleficent lifted her dress and wrapped one of her legs around his hip. She drew him towards her centre, which - for reasons unknown to her - was warm and wet, and ready for his shaft. His body pressed against hers and he moaned at the contact, pinning her against the wall. One of her hands found its way down to his buttocks and the other positioned his shaft at her entrance.

'What are you _doing_?' Her mind screamed at her. But she ignored it, somehow knowing that this was something that, at this precise moment, she needed. She leant her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Diaval, fuck me," she commanded, shocking herself at the vulgarity spilling from her red lips. Diaval gave a moment's hesitation.

"Mistress," he asked gently. "Um...are you su-"

He got no further in his question. Maleficent growled gutturally and pressed herself down onto him, feeling his hardness slide into her core.

"Shut up and do it!" she snarled. And he began to push himself into her.

She gasped at the feeling and squeezed her eyes shut more tightly. She pulled his body closer so his weight was holding her against the wall and curled her standing leg up around his waist. Hands on his buttocks guided him to pump into her hard, fast and rough, until a pained screamed was pulled from her. Diaval tried to pull back, but she squeezed with her thighs and dug her heels into his back to prevent him from moving.

"Don't...stop," she hissed in his ear. The needed sensation came hard and fast for Maleficent. Within moments, she was crying out like a wild animal as wave upon wave of release washed over her. All her muscles tensed and relaxed in spasm and she threw back her head so hard she felt her horns collide painfully with the rock.

Almost immediately, realisation dawned on Maleficent. What had she just done? And...with Diaval?! Shoving him away from her in disgust, she caught herself on hands and knees as the released weight of his body allowed her to slide down the wall. Diaval, with his trousers around his ankles and his shaft still standing out proudly, looked at her with hurt and confusion in his eyes.

"Mistress? Did I do something wro-"

"-Get out," she spat from her prone position. Her body trembled and aftershocks still pulsed through her, but her stomach roiled and she felt physically sick. "Get. Out!" she shrieked. And when Diaval hesitated for a moment once more, still gazing down at her with his face full of concern, she waved her hand at him and transformed him back into a raven. It flew away swiftly, cawing in hurt tones as it left.

Maleficent curled in on herself on the cold, stony floor, buried her head in her arms resting on her knees, and sobbed. Sobbed for what she had just done, sobbed for the pain still lingering between her shoulders, sobbed for the innocent girl she had been just days earlier.

But that girl...was gone. Innocence stolen. And once her tears had dried, she pulled herself to her feet and grasped for her staff. The mixture she had come concocted earlier still swirled in its shell on the nearby wall. She strode over, raised the shell and gulped the warm, bitter liquid down in one.

Almost instantly, she felt a warmth spread through her; the pain receded and her pupils dilated. Her thoughts became sluggish and a heady sensation of floating in calm waters washed over her. She stumbled to the corner where her cloak was lying as a make-shift bed. Her vision was slightly blurred, her steps unsteady. The world spun around her a little and she leant her hands against her staff for support. As soon as she laid down on the cloak, she passed out into the sweet oblivion of sleep, not even noticing the raven return to perch above her. Watching.


	7. Chapter 7 Part 1 - Shattered

**Sorry this one is a bit short. More coming very soon. **

**Reviews gratefully received.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7

Maleficient awoke as a bright beam of sunshine hit her face. Eyes remaining closed in an attempt to stave off the pounding in her head, she wondered for a moment why her body felt so sore. Then memories of the previous evening flooded her foggy mind. Her eyes snapped open and for a second or two the world rolled and spun around her. She rolled over and promptly vomited bitter bile from her almost-empty stomach. Coughing and gagging, she heaved in deep, shuddering breaths. Flash after flash of events crowded her brain.

_Stefan...King. ...Diaval. Oh, Diaval. What have I done?_

Anger, revulsion and shame battled for precedence in her mind. She felt dirty, the kind that a thousand baths could not cleanse. Agony washed through her, ripping open the barely healing wounds already made by Stefan's actions. Now, his betrayal ultimate, she felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. Letting out a tormented cry, Maleficent curled herself into a ball on her bed and sobbed. Sobbed for what Stefan had done to her. Sobbed for what she had done to Diaval. Sobbed for what she had become.

Some time later – was it hours? Days? Years? She could not be sure – her sobs finally subsided, though her breath still hitched and caught in her throat in erratic little gasps. The agonising pain, however, remained as strong as ever in her chest...in her heart. Her heart was broken beyond repair; it was better not to have one at all. So, she walled it off, closed herself to the pain and hurt, imprisoned it deep inside herself...and slammed the door shut. But the anger and shame, they remained, simmering just under the surface.

Maleficent uncurled her body slowly, stiff muscles protesting at the movement. Stony eyed, she glanced down and noticed the empty nut shell beside her creased cloak. She ran her hand over her eyes. Then she pulled herself up onto her feet, willing the world to still. After a moment, it did. Looking around, she saw her raven servant watching silently from atop a nearby wall. The wall where they had... No. She shook her head rapidly to clear the memory. And immediately regretted the action as the world spun dizzyingly around her once more.

'_What were you thinking_?!' she questioned herself in disgust. But she knew she had not been thinking straight at all. ...What she did not know, was how to react now to Diaval.

Coming to a decision, albeit a coward's choice, she flicked her wrist to transform him. "Into a man."

Eyeing her warily, as one would a wild and deadly creature, Diaval slipped down from his position on the wall.

"Mistress," he greeted her politely, inclining his head, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Diaval," she responded coldly. "Come, we have much to do." She turned on her heel and walked away from him without looking back. For a long moment, she felt him just staring at her retreating back. Could feel the hurt and confusion emanating from him.

"Mistress..." he called out to her, his voice hesitant but determined.

She felt sick and ashamed, but she refused to turn back. She could not face the conversation she knew he would want to have - would rather simply pretend it nothing had happened. So, before he could take a step on human feet, before he could say another word, she flicked her hand behind her and turned him back into a raven. Hardening her heart further, shrouding herself in her anger towards Stefan, she headed towards the edge of the Moors.


	8. Chapter 7: Part 2 - Diaval

**Reviews gratefully received. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 7: part 2

Diaval rose into the air and trailed behind his mistress almost against his will. He battled with his emotions - part desperate to follow her in order to offer comfort and solace, part wanting to to flee in fury at her treatment of him. Mostly, he followed out of duty. He was bound to her. But, more to the point, he was _drawn _to her like a moth to a flame. He found her fascinating, alluring, beautiful - of course - and irresistible. He had watched her quietly for many years, as he grew from a hatchling and she from a young child. She had never noticed him, but he had always been there, just out of view. Watching.

He had heard her screams that fateful morning, having slept through whatever had happened to her during the night. After that, he hadn't been able to resist coming out of hiding, wanting to be close to her somehow, to show her some sort of support in her anguish. She had dismissed him, but then the following day...had saved his life, tuned him into a man, accepted him as her loyal servant.

In the ensuing days, she had spoken little to him. In fact, she had done little of anything - sleep, eat, drink. Diaval had tried what he could to help her, but she had rejected all efforts, truly wanting him only for his wings. He had known that the news from the previous day would destroy her, but he could not keep it from her. What he hadn't expected was her action towards him. The pleasure at being needed had been immense. The physical pleasure at the act had been undeniable. The confusion and hurt at her immediate dismissal had been like a knife to his heart.

Yet still he remained. He had watched her sleep fitfully, waiting for her to awaken, waiting to be able to talk to her about what had happened between them. But she had rejected him again. He felt pain in his chest like he had never felt before.

Flapping his wings, he silently followed his mistress as she moved through the moors. She silently released her magic, breaking down walls, casting an unearthly darkness over the land with each step she took. She headed towards the centre of her homeland, and Diaval could hear little pixie voices squeaking in concern and shock at her appearance as she passed by.

"Her wings," they gasped. "Where are her wings?!"

She ignored it all. When she reached her intended destination - the very centre of the moors - she stepped up along the bank of the river to the risen mound in the middle of the water. Flowers and plants shrivelled and died at her passing, and darkness covered the land.

Diaval couldn't stop himself from flying to her as she turned and sat, her expression cold and stony as she gazed out at the little creatures peering at her in shock and fear. As he settled on her staff, her tree-like guards gave an order. All who looked on bent and cowered, bowing to Maleficent.

He looked at her with beady raven eyes full of concern, but she just continued to stare out at the cold, grey moors. The world she had made. Then, to his surprise and delight, she reached out a hand and rested it against his wing, stroking gently. He shuddered in pleasure even as he told himself it was merely for show.

Slowly, gradually, the simpering creatures slipped away, leaving Diaval and Maleficent alone once more. He cawed questioningly at her and cocked his head to one side then the other, seeking her attention. After a long pause, she flicked her hand towards him. He felt the tingling through his body as he changed.

"We will not speak of it," Maleficent preempted him before he could say anything. Her cold tone brooked no disagreement. She still didn't turn to face him.

"As you wish," Diaval said softly, whilst his mind screamed at him to do something, say something, _force _her to face him and talk. "We will not speak of it." She nodded once in satisfaction at his reply. But he couldn't help adding, "yet."

It took a moment before she slowly turned her head to look at him. Her eyes burned almost gold in the darkness, full of swirling emotion though her expression itself showed none. She raised her hand and opened her mouth, presumably preparing to turn him into something horrific like a worm or a toad. He took a step back. But no words came, no change happened, no magic swirled from her hand. Instead, she let out a deep sigh and slowly turned away from him again, staring blankly out into the darkness. Knowing that the conversation - or lack thereof - was finished - for now at least - Diaval sat on a nearby rock and settled in to do what he had grown so accustomed to doing. He watched.


	9. Chapter 8 - Sedative

Chapter 8

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters. **

As the days passed - days which seemed like night in the ever-dark moorland - Maleficent sank deeper and deeper into a darkness of her own. Despite Diaval's daily efforts to feed her, bringing her nuts and berries from the surrounding land, she ate very little, and spoke even less. Sleep - when it came - was constantly disturbed by nightmares that caused her to wake, screaming, though remembering nothing of what she had dreamt. Always to find Diaval there by her side, keeping a respectful distance whilst emanating a sense of calm and comfort. It helped, a little.

But she had not forgotten, nor forgiven herself for her actions the night of Stefan's coronation. She had thought many times about setting Diaval free, but in her selfishness she knew she needed him still. So he remained by her side. Silently watching. Except when she sent him to the castle. No more news of any particular interest to her had emerged.

One evening, as she stood in what had become her room in the ruins and prepared a potion to aid in sleep, Diaval stepped over to her side, watched silently for a moment, then looked at her with eyes full of concern.

"You're gonna destroy yourself if you keep going on like this, you know," he said softly.

Maleficent immediately bristled.

"What business is that of yours?" she snapped, rounding on him. "In fact, what business of yours is anything I choose to do?"

"Because I care, Mistress," Diaval replied. "I hate seeing you hurt yourself. You're..." he hesitated then, as if uncertain about whether to complete that sentence. "You're letting whoever did this to you win," he finished.

Maleficent froze in her stirring of the plant-based mixture. Ice burned through her body, radiating from her chest outwards. She felt her hands begin to tremble and she clenched the tightly into fists. Though her mind screamed that he was wrong, she knew he spoke the truth. She had given up. But she was damned if she was going to let Diaval presume to tell her what to do.

"How dare you," she responded in a deathly quiet voice. Her lips pulled up into a sneer. "You're just my servant. You're just a _bird_. You know nothing about how I feel. I do _not_ need to justify my actions to _**you**_." She glared at him, looked directly into his eyes, and drank the mixture she had been preparing in one long, deliberate gulp. Ignoring the look of pain that seemed to pass through his dark eyes, she turned away and sat in the bed she had crafted for herself with her magic.

Gradually, calm began to wash over her as the potion took effect. The ever-present tension in her body began to ease. She laid back against the smooth, moss-covered branches that acted as her pillow. She longed to wrap herself in her wings against the biting cold. Pain shot through her at the thought, but the potion kept it to a dull ache instead of a dreadful agony.

Diaval crouched down at the end of the bed, ever watchful with those expressive dark eyes. In her mind she warred between wishing she could just get rid of him simply to avoid those eyes, and wishing to tumble into their inky depths. Despite everything, she felt...safe...when Diaval was near her. However, she remembered, she had felt safe with... She refused to even let his name pass through her mind. _He_ had made her feel safe, filing her ears with beautiful lies. And then he had committed the ultimate betrayal. She had vowed she would never again trust a living being as long as she lived. And yet...Diaval was not _him_...He was...

Maleficent felt her train of thought slipping away from her as the potion took full effect. Her eyelids felt heavy and she allowed them to close. As she succumbed to blissful oblivion, she felt herself being covered with a soft blanket.

"Sleep well, Mistress," she heard Diaval whisper. "I'll be here when you wake up." Then, sleep overcame her.


	10. Chapter 9 - Nightmares

Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews - keep em coming, and I'll keep the chapters coming!**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.**

Days passed, turning to weeks, and then months. Diaval watched in helpless concern as Maleficent continued down her path of self-destruction. Though most days he managed to coax her to eat a little, he was aware of her already-slight form diminishing by the day. Her eyes were sunken and rimmed with dark circles. Her physical wounds, at least, had healed, but the emotional damage Stefan had inflicted upon her lingered.

Diaval knew Maleficent had been drugging herself to sleep most nights, and he hated it. Yet even the potion she made did not stave off the nightmares. At least once a night he would be awakened by his mistress screaming, shaking and sobbing. His heart broke for her as he sat by her side - usually in raven form - until she calmed enough to go back to sleep. Or enough to get up and wander the moors. This, she did with some frequency, always with Diaval flapping along behind. She never spoke of what she had dreamed about.

Like clockwork, that night, Diaval was awoken by Maleficent's screams. He swooped down from his perch above her bed to land beside her. Clearly still asleep, Maleficent's body was rigid and she screamed as if in agony. Tears trickled down the sides of her face from behind her closed eyelids. Diaval hopped up towards her head and pecked roughly at her shoulder to awaken her. She sat bolt upright, eyes flying open, breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Her eyes darted back and forth as if searching for something. When she didn't find whatever it was she sought, her breathing began to slow and she leaned forward to rest her head against her bent knees.

Once she had her breathing under control, she directed a trickle of magic towards Diaval and transformed him into his human form. He found himself sitting cross-legged by her side. Very close to her side. He stood up quickly. Too quickly. His feet entangled with one another and he tumbled onto his backside with a dull thud. Maleficent raised her head at the unexpected sound and looked at him for a moment. Her lips twitched in a ghost of a smile upon finding him kneeling up and rubbing his rear with a pained expression on his face. He glowered for a moment before breaking out a smile of his own; her reaction was unexpected to say the least. He hadn't seen her smile since the day before she had lost her wings. He took the opportunity.

"Mistress, what do you dream of that has you waking me up every night?" He had meant it to come out in a light-hearted manner, but from the way her face dropped and her eyebrows knitted together, she had obviously taken it in an entirely different way. He immediately cursed himself for ruining the moment.

"Oh! Am I interfering with your beauty sleep?" she questioned in a cool voice. "I am sorry."

"No! Not at all. I meant...er...I mean to say..." he stammered helplessly before stating simply: "I just wanted to know if I could help, that's all."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," she told him. With a groan of discomfort, she pulled herself from her bed and walked to the edge of the room, gazing out at a sky in which dark clouds of her creation blotted out the moon and the stars.

"Mistress, please," Diaval stepped up behind her, longing to put his arm around her shoulder, longing to comfort her. But, knowing exactly how that would be received – and not wanting to be turned into a mealy worm – he settled for simple standing at her side. "Talk to me. Let me help."

"I don't. Want. To talk," she growled through gritted teeth. "And I don't need any help. Not from you, not from anyone!"

"No, you help yourself in other ways," he muttered under his breath. He saw her freeze, could practically feel the ire radiating out from her body. He took a step back. He genuinely hadn't meant that for her ears.

"What?" she asked, infusing that single word with so much anger, so much threat that he wished just at that moment that he was a mealy worm. Rounding on him, her eyes flashed vivid green and her hands glowed with tendrils of magic.

"No…Nothing!" he stammered, raising his hands as if they could defend him against her fury, he gaze, her magic. "I just…I just meant…I worry about you! That's all!"

"Well don't!" she roared.

He took another step back. But he was unable to stop the next words that slipped out of his mouth.

"Mistress, you're going to kill yourself if you keep on like this."

He saw her hand draw back and instinctively flinched as if expecting her to strike him. Which she did, but instead of with her first, she struck with a burst of magic so powerful it sent him flying backwards about 50 feet. Closing his eyes as he plummeted to the ground, he thought, 'This is it. This is how I'm going to die. Imagine that, a raven falling to its death.' But just as the ground rushed towards his face, he felt his wings kick in. She had transformed him just in time. Flapping rapidly, he soared high into the sky and flew until he considered himself out of reach of her magic.

Despite the distance, his ears still picked up her soft voice as she murmured, "Perhaps that is precisely what I want to do." And he knew she was referring to his last statement. He screeched shrilly into the sky, knowing in his heart that if that was truly what she intended…nothing he could say or do could prevent it.


	11. Chapter 10 - Child

Chapter 10

**A/N: Please review. Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent of any of its characters.**

Somehow, some way, Maleficent slowly began to heal...somewhat. Her nightmares were fewer and farther between, though she still felt the need to be drugged in order to sleep. The irony was not lost on her that Stefan had drugged her to cause all this, and now she was doing the same to herself in reaction to it. Slowly, her attitude towards Diaval thawed...somewhat. He no longer tried to help, merely remained by her side, doing her bidding as and when required, otherwise maintaining a watchful quietness. Maleficent was both relieved and disturbed by this: in some ways, she was glad for the peace, and for the reduction in judgement; in others, she longed for his intervention, knowing she was unable to pull herself fully from the dark void into which she had fallen, without his support. And though she would often remind him that she needed no-one, the words did not quite resonate within her as truth.

Months passed. One one particularly sunny day, Maleficent sat on her throne in the centre of the moors, gazing at the land that surrounded her as she waited for Diaval's return from his daily news-gathering trip at the castle. She found herself missing him more and more each time he left her side - so accustomed had she grown to his presence. She drummed her fingernails against the smooth bark impatiently. Surely he should have been back by now!

As if her thought had conjured him, in the distance she saw a flash of black in the sky. She stood, took a few steps towards him almost involuntarily, and smiled. It was only a slight curling of her lips, but a smile nonetheless. As soon as he realised what her traitorous face was doing, she schooled her features to stillness.

'Never let him, or anyone, see that you care!' She chided herself.

Moments later, Diaval swooped in and, as he landed, she transformed him. Having grown used to being changed at the most inopportune of moments, he managed to stay on his feet as he turned from raven to human mid-step.

"Well?" she asked, as usual by-passing the pleasantries.

"Well I saw nothing," he replied, raising one eyebrow at her and shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "But, there's been a...um..."

"What?" she snapped impatiently, raising her chin and gazing down her nose at him.

"Ch..." his eyebrows knit together and she could tell he wished he were anywhere but where he stood. "Child," he managed to say after an infuriating pause. "King Stefan and his wife have had a child."

In truth, she had been expecting this news for some time, having noted time passing since the coronation and, presumably, wedding to one of the previous king's daughters. But she hadn't prepared herself well enough. Pain rent through her chest. She cast her eyes downwards, but allowed herself no other outward sign of distress.

"Oh," was all she said. She felt close to tears, but refused to show how she truly felt. Even to Diaval, whom - she had to concede - had seen her in far worse states.

"There's to be a christening. They say it'll be a grand celebration," he continued.

Her mood brightened slightly at that news. A christening? Yes. Yes, she could work with that. Thoughts of vengeance swept all other emotion away for a moment. "A grand celebration for a baby...how wonderful," she stated.

Diaval was surprised, to say the least, at his mistress's reaction to his news. Firstly, he had expected screaming, wailing, green lights flying at the sky - the whole show. Her simple, "Oh," however, spoke volumes. He had seen the pain within he depths of hers eyes. Pain she tried so hard to conceal. Secondly, the last thing he had expected was for her to find the news 'wonderful'. He worried about what she had planned for the baby.

Having listened to his news, Maleficent had turned Diaval back into a raven and sent him on his way. He flitted about the Moorlands for some time before he found himself once again drawn back to his mistress's side. The sun was setting as he swooped down over the ruins and prepared to land. Unexpectedly, before he reached the ground, he felt himself changing. With nothing beneath him, he simply tumbled from the sky and landed - once again - on his backside. "Oof!" he grunted.

His landing was immediately met with peels of laughter and a series of claps. Diaval looked up in surprise, wondering who was in Maleficent's ruins. Their ruins - for he regarded it now as his home as well. Standing up with a moan at the pain in his rear, he peered around looking for the source of the laughter.

Behind him stood Maleficent. Alone. And she was laughing. A momentary flash of joy swept through him at seeing the mirth play across her exquisite features. Then, he noticed how dilated her pupils were, and the nut shell in her hand, this time containing some awful-looking bright green concoction.

"Diaval!" She seemed pleased to see him. A sure sign something was wrong, he thought. "Come, won't you join me? I'm celebrating."

Her words were slightly slurred and she seemed unsteady on her feet. Diaval had spent too much time around humans to fail to recognise the signs.

"Mistress, are you...drunk?" he asked in shock. Whilst he had grown used to her drugging herself to sleep (though less so in the last few months as she had in the beginning of their time together), this was a new one on him.

"Certainly not!" She seemed indignant for a moment, then laughed again. But it was a mirthless sound, and her features failed to catch on. "Well...maybe, just a little."

Diaval sighed. Maleficent was difficult enough to deal with at the best of times - not that anything in the last 10 months had been the best of times! But Maleficent drunk? And clearly still reeling from his earlier news? He quailed at the realisation that he wasn't going to come out of this unscathed, one way or another...


	12. Chapter 11 - Solace

Chapter 11

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.**

Diaval approached Maleficent warily. She appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be doing just fine. But when he looked more closely at her, he saw that her eyes swirled with shades of dark green and gold, holding back a whirlwind of emotion and pain.

"Looking for something?" Maleficent asked with a smile that, once again, didn't quite meet her eyes. She offered him her drink with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head. "No? Oh, you're no fun, my little bird. Or..." she eyed him ponderously for a moment "...perhaps you are."

And with that, she leaned forward and kissed him before he could react. Before he could think. But then the moment of surprise passed...and he found he still couldn't react. Still couldn't think. Maleficent's lips felt so good pressing against his, and it momentarily pushed everything else out of his brain. Along - apparently - with a good portion of blood, which he found rushing down to...other areas. Unable to think straight with

Maleficent kissing him, he reluctantly pulled back away from her and looked at her carefully, trying to gauge the situation.

She looked, to be frank, beautiful as she stood before him, breathing slightly more heavily than usual. Her lips were red and full, begging to be kissed. Her cheeks were flushed from whatever intoxicant she had used to make her drink. Her eyes were dark with desire. And her hair, for once, was loose, falling over her shoulders and down her back. Oh how he longed to run his fingers through those silky brown locks. He actually reached a hand towards her before snapping it quickly back, remembering a similar night many months ago, and her reaction to him touching her hair. Touching her at all.

Maleficent took a step towards him, closing the distance between them. So he took a step back. She frowned slightly and took another step towards him, this time hooking a long finger into the laces of his shirt, preventing further escape.

To be honest with himself, escape was the last thing he wanted to do. But he knew she wouldn't react well to this once she came to her senses. Quite apart from anything else, he dreaded another rejection in the morning. Besides that, he didn't want to do anything to cause his mistress any more distress.

But when Maleficent leaned in once more to kiss him, he felt any resolve he had dropping away. Consequences be damned! He closed the distance between them and lost himself in the sweet touch of her lips against his. Maleficent deepened the kiss, leaning her body in to press against his and running her fingers through his hair. He let out a soft moan and knew he had passed the point of no return. He couldn't have stopped her then even had he wanted to.

Diaval raised his hand towards her, but the minute his fingers touched her, she grabbed his wrist with one of her hands and pinned it at his side. "Uh uh," she said through the kiss. Her tone was playful, so he risked trying with the other hand. She grabbed that wrist too and pinned it at his other side. "I can see we're going to have to do something about those wandering hands," she chuckled. He suddenly found himself being flung backwards as she pushed both palms into his chest. He fell onto her bed on his back and she knelt, looking down at him with a smirk.

Throwing one leg over his hips, she lowered her weight down into him and he knew she would be able to feel his already-hard manhood beneath her. Her smirk deepened, confirming that thought.

Taking both of his wrists in her hands, she pinned them above his head. "Stay," she told them sternly. He flexed his hands, but made no attempt to move them. He was hers to command. Her lips dipped to his once more. Their tongues met and he shuddered in pleasure. He felt her upper body press against his as she relaxed into him, her weight on her elbows as her hands fiddled with his hair again. The unfairness of that fact was not lost on him, but he enjoyed the sensation too much to really care at that moment. As the kiss deepened, he felt her breathing quicken, heard little moans escaping her. Those beautiful sounds sent a jolt through his heart. And to his manhood.

Diaval pulled back from the kiss and moved his lips to her neck. He knew immediately he had done something wrong when her felt her freeze.

"Don't," was all she said. He stopped instantly. She gazed down at him for a moment and he thought, 'That's it. Moment ruined yet again. She's going to turn me into a warthog or something equally disgusting.' But she didn't. Instead, she lifted his shirt over his head and dragged her nails up and down his scarred chest. He shivered and let out a delighted whine at the mixture of pleasure and pain. His hands involuntarily moved to her shoulders and then ran down her sides. Maleficent shuddered and closed her eyes, but within seconds they snapped open again and she grabbed hold of his wrists.

"Now, what did I tell you," she said with a cross expression. "I really do need to do something about these naughty fingers, don't I!" She pinned his hands once more above his head, but this time when she released them, he found them still pinned. Clearly, she had used magic to shackle him to the bed! Not that he was complaining exactly. There were certainly far worse places to be shackled.

As she leaned forward to capture his lips in another deep, breathtaking kiss, he felt her hips begin to rock against him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she met it with hers. He heard her whimper, and thought that it was the most intoxicating sound he had ever heard. He wanted to hear it again. Her hips continued to rock and he felt himself growing harder, if that was possible at that point. He longed to touch her, and struggled against the invisible bonds holding his hands in place. Feeling her smile against his lips, he began to move his pelvis back and forth in time with her rocking hips. She made that delightful whimpering sound again. Louder this time. More urgent.

Abruptly, she lifted her hips and reached between them, pulling off his trousers. He was acutely aware of being naked whilst she was still fully clothed. Seeming to read his mind, she quickly divested herself of her dress. He could do nothing but gape at her full beauty. Her face and chest were flushed. His gaze travelled over the soft swell of her breasts, their taught nipples standing out in the cool night air. The flatness of her stomach, and the dark downy hair at her centre. He struggled again with his hands, but her magic held firm.

Maleficent eyes were dark with desire, her chest heaving with short, sharp breaths. She lowered herself down over him, and he felt his hard shaft pressing against her, but she hovered, not yet allowing him access. She smirked down at him. He thrust upwards with his hips, and felt his manhood glide along her wetness, but still failed to find the place it so longed to be. She leaned down again and their kiss was hard and fast this time, tongues entwining, until his lips felt bruised and his breath had grown rapid and ragged. His frustration was almost beyond bearing and he thrust with his hips again.

Maleficent moaned hotly at the feel of his shaft pressing against her. She rose up on her knees, reached between them and guided him to her wet entrance. With one swift movement she sank down onto him, throwing her head back and gasping. He let out a grunt of pleasure at finally being inside her wet, tight walls.

She rocked her hips against him, moaning and whimpering as he met her movements with thrusts of his own. Gently at first, and then increasing in pace and intensity. Her eyes closed and she leaned her upper body against his, her head buried in his shoulder. He could hear every delicious little sound she made, and he smiled at the knowledge that it was him eliciting those sounds.

Their movements quickened, deepened. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as her whimpers and gasps turned to moans of pleasure. He felt himself approaching his peak, and could tell from the intensity of her moans and movements that she was close as well. He deepened his thrusts and circled his hips at the same time, drawing a loud cry of pleasure from Maleficent. Her nails began to draw blood at his shoulders as she moaned rhythmically with their movements. Then, with a guttural cry, she reached her peak. He felt her walls contract around him and that coupled with the sound as she peaked sent him over the edge as well. He pulsed within her with a grunting moan.

Suddenly, he realised his hands were free.

Unable to stop himself, he reached out to tenderly stroke his fingers over her shoulders, regretting the action when he felt her freeze once again. He could still feel her trembling with the aftershocks of her pleasure but a new shaking had joined in at his touch. He retracted his hands immediately, but the damage was done.

She pushed herself off him roughly, grabbed her dress and pulled it on.

"Mistress. Maleficent...wait!" He called out. Sitting up, he tried to rise but found his legs entangled in his trousers.

"Diaval, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...we shouldn't... I need to get out of here," she stammered. She grabbed her drink from the nearby wall, hesitated for a moment, then swallowed down what was left in the shell before rushing off into the darkness.

Diaval sank back into the mossy bed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Idiot!" he grunted.


	13. Chapter 12 - Cursed

Chapter 12

**A/N: As ever, reviews gratefully received.**

**I've used a bit of artistic licence for this chapter - those of you who have watched he film closely will notice the slight change I have made to a certain character's whereabouts.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Being stuck in human form and missing his wings, Diaval searched unsuccessfully for Maleficent for the remainder of the night. He walked the whole distance of the moors, but there was no sign of her. Dawn was just approaching over the horizon when he stumbled, exhausted, up the steps to her ruined castle. And there, on her bed, lay Maleficent. The last place he had thought to look. He ground his teeth and sighed. Walking over to stand by the side of her bed, Diaval gazed down at his sleeping mistress. She seemed peaceful, her features relaxed. She looked younger, more carefree, when she slept like that. A sleep unbroken by nightmares.

Sunlight filtered through the broken rock walls and cast beams of light and warmth over her delicate features. Her eyelids fluttered and she let out a small groan, hands rising to clutch at her head.

"Ouch," she muttered.

"Let that be a lesson to you, mistress: lay off the wormwood," he said in a light tone, crossing his fingers that he wouldn't find himself turned into a grub.

Maleficent opened one eye and regarded him silently for a moment. She sighed.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she muttered.

"Yes, well, lots of things seem like a good idea at the time..." he agreed, "doesn't mean you should just go ahead and do them."

Both of her eyes opened at this statement.

"If you have something to say, Diaval," she said in a cold tone, "just say it."

Diaval opened his mouth. "Very well, mistress, since you offered. I think we need to ta-" He was cut off by a flash of green striking him and he found himself transformed before he could finish what he had been about to say.

"I changed my mind," she stated, "don't say it." Back in raven form, Diaval rose into the air and flew away. He didn't look back, but still he could feel her eyes watching him as he fluttered into the distance and up through the low-hanging cloud.

He stayed away for longer than usual, that time. He finally returned three days later to discover Maleficent reclining in her throne, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Into a man," she muttered before he realised she had seen him flutter down behind her.

"Well, well. Look who decided to return. Where have you been?" she asked. Far too serenely for his liking.

"Around. Needed some time to gather my thoughts," he replied warily.

She quirked an eyebrow in his direction and a curious smirk spread across her ruby lips. "Really? I wouldn't have imagined _that_ would take you so long."

"Mistress, if you're just going to insult me I'd rather you just -"

"Oh, calm down," she said, rolling her eyes and rising to her feet. "Today is a good day...I'll be nice, I promise."

"And what's so good about..." it suddenly dawned on him. "Mistress...mistress what did you do? What did you do to the King's baby?" The christening - it had been yesterday! How could he have lost track of time so foolishly as to miss that!?

"Oh, nothing much," she trilled. "Gave a little blessing. Planted a little curse. Just your typical christening gifts from a girl to the child of the man who stole everything from her and left her broken and bleeding." She smiled so coldly it sent a chill down Diaval's spine.

"You...you cursed Stefan's daughter?" he choked out.

"Why, yes, I believe I did," she replied with the same cold smile. "Don't worry, Diaval, she's perfectly safe. Until her 16th birthday that is...then she might stumble across a little hitch." She laughed then. "Oh, that reminds me. I need you to do something for me. Be a dear and track down those three idiot pixies who ran away to the King. They have the child with them, and I would like to know where she is, just so I can...check in, every now and then. Off you go," and she turned him back into a raven without giving him a chance to respond.

He considered for a moment not following her instruction. But he had promised - anything she needed. So off he flew in search of Aurora and her three guardians, still kicking himself for missing the big day. But then, he rationalised, nothing he could have said or done would have changed anything. Maleficent was nothing if not stubborn and unyielding once she had her mind set on something. Personal experience, if nothing else, had taught him that!


	14. Chapter 13 - Sharing

Chapter 13

**A/N: Please review if you read! Reviews make new chapters come more quickly ;-). Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.**

Much later that same day, Maleficent shivered in the cold darkness as she stood in the ruins, peering out at the murky night. In her hand, she held a large goblet she had fashioned, in which swirled the sickly green mixture she had concocted from wormwood - stronger and more potent than her last batch. The initial heady exhilaration of her visit to Stefan's kingdom - his begging and the final twist of the knife in the condition of Aurora's curse - had worn off. She felt depleted, unfulfilled...miserable.

Yes, she had to admit, she had enjoyed the moment. But that enjoyment was bittersweet. Seeing Stefan again - seeing him with his wife and child - had stabbed at wounds she had thought were healed. Apparently, they weren't.

Maleficent sipped the sharp-tasting liquid, feeling it burn as it slipped down her throat and then settle into a comforting warmth in her stomach. Perhaps, she thought, it would thaw the ice running through her veins. She shivered with the sensation of someone walking over her grave. She wrapped her cloak closer around her slight form and sighed deeply before taking another gulp from the goblet.

By the time Diaval returned around midnight, the goblet was empty. Maleficent sat upon her bed, her back leaning up against the rough rock wall behind her, her eyes glazed over and still staring out into the darkness. But she was paying no attention to what was before her. For once, her mind was blissfully empty; the mixture had done its job. Perhaps too well, for she felt utterly spaced out.

Diaval landed beside her; she raised one hand sluggishly to transform him. She could feel his eyes on her as he regarded her silently, taking in the empty goblet and her glazed expression. She heard him sigh softly, though whether through exasperation or pity she could not be sure. She avoided looking up at him, not wanting to know which. She didn't want his pity, and couldn't abide his judgement. But he said nothing. Instead, he crouched down beside her and lifted the empty goblet from her slack fingers. Placing it on the floor behind him, he settled back on his heels.

"Oh, Maleficent," he said tenderly, startling her in his use of her real name; he never did that. "Why do you do this to yourself?" She still refused to look at him. He had answered her query: pity was the flavour of the day, it seemed. Instead of answering, Maleficent managed a lethargic shrug.

How could she explain to him how she felt when she couldn't herself comprehend the depths of her emotions? How could she tell him of the avalanche of memories - things she had tried to bury deeply in the recesses of her mind - that had flooded over her upon seeing Stefan again? How could she admit that going to the castle had been a mistake? And how could she possibly express that all she wanted, at that moment, was for him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright?

Diaval, at the same time, was thinking along exactly the same lines. He longed for nothing more than to hold her, and tell her everything was going to be alright. But he knew exactly how that action would be met, and relished the thought of neither her rejection nor spending time away from her as a mealy worm or a toad.

"I dream about him," the words came softly, after long moments of silence. So softly that Diaval thought for a moment he had imagined the sound. He stepped closer towards her on cautious feet, not wanting to do anything to break the moment. She turned around to face him. Her gaze met his and he saw her pain reflected in the green depths of her eyes.

"Him?" Diaval said. "You mean King Stefan?" He pretended not to notice her flinch at the mention of his name. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

"Do you...want to talk about it?" Diaval asked.

Maleficent's eyes opened sluggishly and she regarded him for a moment. Then she pulled herself up into a sitting position, gesturing for him to sit too. He rested, cross-legged, at the end of her bed, acutely aware – and slightly afraid - of the close proximity to his volatile mistress.

"He..." she sighed, clearly battling against herself in what to say to him. How much to tell. Diaval sat in silence, allowing her time. "He drugged me," she said after a long pause. "He gave me a drink laced - I think - with mandrake. I was unconscious when he...he took...when he took my wings. It was only when I awoke the next morning that I knew anything had happened." She swallowed and took a deep ragged breath. "But in my dreams, he doesn't drug me. I am awake...through all of it. I can feel...all of it."

Diaval could see her eyes glittering with unshed tears. Seeing him looking, she turned her head away. The sad irony of the situation struck him: Stefan had drugged her into unconsciousness in order to cut off her wings without her being aware of it, and she now drugged herself to sleep only to dream of that very act.

"I'm sorry," he said, knowing the words were worthless but meaning then all the same.

"Are you apologising for asking about it, or expressing sorrow for what he did?" she asked, turning her head back to face him, eyes now dry.

Diaval raised his shoulders slightly.

"Both?" he answered. Maleficent merely nodded slightly in response. He noticed then her heavy-lidded, red-rimmed eyes.

"Mistress, you look exhausted. Get some sleep," he suggested.

Maleficent groaned and ran her hand over her eyes. Then she nodded.

"Will you..." she seemed to be fighting with herself about what to say next. "Will you stay with me?"

Diaval smiled softly across at her. "Always," he replied simply. The word said everything that needed to be said.


	15. Chapter 14 - Beastie

Chapter 14

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.**

Maleficent awoke the following morning to find herself in her bed, covered by a blanket. Her head pounded and she felt slightly sick. Memories of the previous night came flooding back into her foggy mind. She remembered what she had told Diaval and sighed, unsure exactly how she felt about that. She also remembered asking him to stay. She was unsure exactly how she felt about that, as well.

Without opening her eyes, she reached out with one probing arm. Nothing. She was alone. Maleficent frowned and forced her heavy lids open, wincing at the increased throbbing in her head as bright sunlight assaulted her vision. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she peered around, searching.

She found her face lighting up into a smile when she spotted him. He was stretched out on the floor beside her bed, sleeping soundly. She gazed at him for a long moment, and realised it was the first time she had seen him sleep in his human form. Taking the opportunity, she studied the contours of his face, the line of his jaw, the soft thickness of his hair. Yes, she had done a good job.

"Mistress, stop watching me sleep." His voice startled her. She saw his lips twitch into a smile before his eyes opened. He turned his head to regard her with his deep, dark eyes.

"Good morning, mistress," he greeted her politely. "And how are we feeling this morning?" She could see tension in his eyes and his jaw and immediately understood. He was nervous about her reaction her disclosure the previous night.

"Better," she replied. She stretched lethargically before dragging herself onto her feet. As she did so, she remembered her instructions to Diaval the previous afternoon.

"Oh!" she said, turning to look down at him. "Did you find the..._child_-" her lip curled in disgust "-yesterday?"

She saw his hesitation, saw the tightening of his jaw. He stood up and regarded her silently for a moment or two. Then he nodded slowly.

"I did."

"Good. Take me to her," she instructed. "And Diaval," she said over her shoulder as she turned to ready herself for the day, "thank you for...for last night."

Diaval lead Maleficent to the edge of the moors, where she used her magic to clear a path for them to pass through the wall of thorns, closing it up again behind them.

Predictably, the incompetent pixies had chosen a spot close to their homeland. Perhaps thinking to hide in plain sight. Not that Maleficent was complaining - without her wings to carry her across long distances, she was just glad not to have discovered them on the other side of the kingdom! Unsure of his ability to find his way through the forest from the ground, Diaval requested to be changed back into his natural form, and lead her from the sky.

As they neared the little cottage, the pitiful, grating sound of a crying baby could be heard. Checking first that the coast was clear, Maleficient approach the window from which the sound emanated and peered inside. The baby noticed her immediately. The crying stopped, to be replaced by a happy gurgle. She regarded the child with her large green eyes, and to her surprise, did not feel the hatred she had expected.

"Hmm..." she pondered. "It's so ugly, you could almost feel sorry for it." The child grinned broadly at her and squirmed a little in its crib. Maleficient bared her teeth and hissed at it. It giggled a her. She felt something unidentifiable in her chest. A new feeling. A...softening? No! She would not allow it that. Never.

"I hate you," she told it, somewhat perfunctorily. "Beastie."

She was prevented from saying or doing anything further by the sound of the fairies banging around in the next room. Not wanting to be seen, Maleficient slipped away. Transforming Diaval back into a man once they were a safe distance away, she leaned back against a tree and stood in silence for a moment.

"Well?" Diaval asked her eventually.

She looked over at him and arched one eyebrow. "Well what?"

"She's a cutie, isn't she?" he grinned.

Maleficent shot him a slightly incredulous sidelong glance. "Are you _trying _to be turned into a dung beetle? She's a hideous beastie, and that's all I have to say on the matter." She turned on her heel and marched away. Diaval managed a single chuckle before she waved her hand behind her. "Into a dung beetle," she muttered. That would give him some time to think on the scuttle home!


	16. Chapter 15 - Turmoil

Chapter 15

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters. **

In the following days, Maleficent found herself visiting the little cottage in the woods more and more often. She tried to convince Diaval that she simply had a vested interest in the child's survival. But it wasn't that that drew her. Something, almost like an invisible force, seemed to pull her towards the baby.

On one such visit, she found herself pressing her hands over her ears at the baby's continuous, plaintive wails. She had watched as the child's 'aunts' had bungled their way through caring for it - a prime example being their attempts to feed it raw, freshly picked carrots.

She growled, "It's going to starve with those three looking after it!"

Diaval hopped up beside her and cocked his head, cawing softly in curiosity and interest.

"Oh, quiet, you," she snapped. "I'm not worried about the little beast. I just need it alive until its 16th birthday to fulfil the curse, that's all. Which it won't be if those idiots don't _get it something to eat! _Need I do everything myself? Come, we'll feed the damn creature ourselves." She stood and marched off into he woods.

Later, having found what they needed, and once the aunts were asleep and snoring, Maleficent and Diaval approached the cottage. Diaval glided in through the open window with a flower overflowing with fresh milk clutched in his break. He perched on the side of the crib and held it out towards the baby's mouth. She took it and began to suckle happily. Maleficent rolled her eyes as Diaval hooked his talons around the edge of the crib and began to gently rock it. She walked away in disgust.

...

When Diaval found her later that night, back in the moors, she was sitting on her throne, resting her head back on the smooth bark behind her. In her hand, she clutched her goblet, again filled with the sickly green wormwood concoction she had grown so fond of imbibing over the past months. Her eyes were closed. A slight smile curled at the edges of her lips.

Diaval sighed and swooped in to land on a overhanging branch near her head. He stood, cocking his head from side to side and cawing insistently until she opened her eyes. As usual when she had been drinking, they were glazed, the pupils dilated, her gaze unfocused.

"Well, hello there, pretty bird," she slurred. Her hand reached out to stroke his wing and he couldn't help but let out a shudder despite the voice screaming at him to fly away _immediately _to protect them both from what could happen next_; _she was in one of _those _moods...

Maleficent flicked her wrist, and he found himself in human form. It was becoming almost more comfortable this way than in his natural one. How strange.

"Mistress..." he mumbled slowly, unsure exactly what he planned to say. "Mistress, are you...um...are you alright?"

She arched an eyebrow at him and took a sip of her drink, her face scrunching at the taste. "Why wouldn't I be?" she said in a light tone, her words running together.

"Well...you're drinking that _stuff_. You tend to only do that when something is...bothering you," he explained cautiously.

"No, nothing bothering me," she replied almost cheerfully. Almost. "I was just...thirsty."

Diaval barely restrained himself from rolling her eyes at the bold-faced lie.

"You know what's good when you're thirsty?" he muttered. "Water."

He almost felt her bristle. "I beg your pardon?" she growled in a dangerous tone, her eyes glittering in the darkness as her mood changed in a flash. She stood up - somewhat unsteadily - and faced him. "What, exactly, does what I drink - or what I do - have to do with _you_?"

Diaval held his ground under furious gaze. "That stuff's not good for you," he said gently, hoping that if he remained calm...she might do the same. Not much chance of that, in truth, but it was worth a shot! "It makes you do...things...that you..." he found himself stammering then. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. She did things she - and he - would only regret and suffer for later when she was drunk. But he knew that, if he said what was really on his mind, it would awaken the full force of her fury. Whilst it was true they had grown closer of late, and she had seemed generally to be doing better, he maintained a healthy respect for - and fear of - her temper.

"Yes..?" she said in a dangerous tone. "Things that I _what_?"

Diaval pressed his lips together and looked at the ground. There was no talking to her in this state. It would turn out one of two ways - him being kicked out, or her using him for sex and _then _him being kicked out_. _Whilst one option was _slightly _more enticing than the other, he allowed, neither particularly filled him with joy!

"I just think you should lay off it a bit," he told his shoes.

"And I just think you should spend some time thinking about who is the mistress, and who is the servant in this relationship!" she growled. "I don't need advice from a pesky _raven_." And, with that, she flicked her wrist and he felt himself transform back into exactly that. A pesky raven. Maleficent immediately turned away from him and gulped down whatever was left in her goblet.

"Be gone!" she waved her hand, and he felt himself struck by a punch of green mist. He spun dizzyingly through the air, travelling quite some distance away before hitting a tree and flopping to the ground, sore and dazed. '_Well,_' he thought, he beak clacking. '_That could have gone better!'_

...

Maleficent wanted to pace, but the world refused to stay still so she settled with sitting upon her throne and drumming her fingers on the wooden arms, silently fuming.

How _dare _he? Who did he think he was?! He had no idea what she was thinking, what her reasons were for doing what she did. Not that it was any of his business anyway!

In truth, Maleficent was feeling too much. That was why she had felt the need to drink, to blot everything out if just for a while. The sight of the child, contented, happy, _cute -_ she ground her teeth at that admission - and being cared for - liked! - by Diaval had affected her deeply in ways she could not understand. She wanted to hate the creature as she hated Stefan. But somehow, she couldn't muster such a feeling towards it. And that maddened her.

Much as Diaval maddened her. She needed him; she hated him; she cared for him, she wanted him out of her life; and she wanted him to never leave her side. Maleficent sighed and lay her head back against the soft bark of her throne. Why did everything have to be so confusing?!


	17. Chapter 16 - Childcare

Chapter 16

**A/N:** **Thanks so much for the reviews.**

**Visionary-Writer - yep, she was! She's struggling a lot...I enjoy writing angst and putting my favourite characters through hell mwahaha. Don't worry, it'll all get better...eventually**

**Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters. **

Maleficent awoke with a pounding head to find she had fallen asleep - or passed out - in her throne. Her back and neck ached for having been so long in an uncomfortable position and she moaned as she stretched, stiff muscles protesting veraciously.

She looked around for Diaval and felt a twinge of...something...at not seeing him anywhere nearby. She wondered with a stab of guilt just how far - and with how much force - her magic had actually sent him the night before.

In the sober light of day, she could understand exactly what he had been trying to say - both with his spoken and _unspoken _words. She _did _do things - all sorts of awful things, that hurt not only herself - when drunk. Things she would regret, that caused her shame, and caused others - Diaval - distress. She _did _need to stop. However, it wasn't as simple as that. The wormwood concoction, along with that she still often made to aid in relaxing and sleeping, made things feel - at least temporarily - better, calmer, lighter. There was something so alluring about that feeling, that she found herself longing for it more and more.

But Diaval was right as well when he said she needed to lay off it. It wasn't good for her - physically or emotionally. She resolved to try to calm down, at least with the wormwood. Not because he had suggested it, though! It was _her _decision.

Having forgiven her servant, her companion - not that there was anything really to forgive, she was willing to admit - she found herself missing him. She pressed her lips together and her brows drew downwards in a frown at that realisation. Then she sighed. So often, she had to remind herself that Diaval - despite his appearance oftentimes - was not a man. Was not like other men. Was not like..._Stefan. _

"Diaval?" she called out, hoping he was hiding away somewhere nearby. There was no reply: no cawing, no movement. "Diaval!" she called again. Nothing. He was clearly not anywhere close. Maleficent rolled her eyes suddenly, knowing exactly where she would find him.

Exactly as expected, when she arrived at the cottage in the woods, there he was: hovering over the beast's crib, feeding it. She rolled her eyes at the sight. Goodness knows where the aunts had got to, but mercifully they were nowhere to be seen...or heard!

Upon seeing her approach, Diaval rose into the air and flapped his way towards her.

"Finished playing at being mummy?" she asked as Diaval swooped in to land and was transformed into his human body.

He eyed her for a moment, clearly weighing her mood. She didn't say anything, but her eyes carried softness and a trace of humour.

"Hey, it was you who told me to feed her," he shrugged, having apparently decided the coast was clear - she had calmed down.

"Yes...feed _it_," Maleficent corrected, pleased that they weren't required to have a 'conversation' about the previous night. Happy that he seemed content to let it go. "Not rock the cursed creature to sleep, tickle its feet and sing it a damn lullaby. I just need it alive, and I need it _not _to continue to make that infernal racket. It hurts my ears."

"Uh huh," was all he he said in response, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She glowered at him.

"Did you enjoy your time as a dung beetle?" she asked sweetly. "Because we could always make that a permanent arrangement." Maleficent lifted her hand and green magic swirled around her fingers.

"Aw, mistress, you wouldn't do that. You enjoy my sparkling company too much!" he responded with a winning smile.

"Do I, now?" she asked dryly. But the swirling tendrils of magic still vanished at her words. His grin broadened.

"We're gonna have to keep a close eye on that baby if you want to keep it alive; you know that don't you?" he said.

"The thought had crossed my mind," she replied disdainfully, though finding herself not altogether averse to that thought.

So that is precisely they did. Most days, in fact, were spent close to the little cottage in the woods, working hard to counter the aunt's continued incompetently bodged attempts at childcare, in order to keep the baby alive. They witnessed her first steps, which the aunts missed because they were arguing about about who had lost the rolling pin. They heard her first word, which the aunts missed because they were arguing about whose hair was the prettiest. They made her wooden toys when she began to cut her first teeth, which the aunts completely failed to notice was happening.

Of course, half of what they missed was down to Maleficent, who had developed quite a liking for toying with the fairies at every opportunity.

"Consider it their punishment for taking such poor care of the little beast," she told Diaval at one point, having just coaxed a dozen toads into the fairies' bed.

"I see. And you derive no enjoyment from delivering these little 'punishments'?"

"Well..." the word elongated as she said it. Then she grinned at him, showing her short fangs in all their sparkling white glory.

And so Aurora indeed grew in grace and beauty - just as Maleficent had said she would - under the ever-watchful care, not of those with whom her care had been entrusted, but by the very being she had been sent away to escape.


	18. Chapter 17 - Attacked

Chapter 17

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters. **

Time passed, as it has a tendency to do - and Maleficent and Diaval grew more and more comfortable in one another's company. They were often to be found in the woods near the cottage, in a spot they had claimed for their own, watching over the human child as her 'aunts' continued to bumble their way through raising her.

Maleficent had done as she had resolved to do: she had not touched a drop of wormwood for some months now. She ate more frequently, slept slightly more soundly, and the dark rings around her eyes had all but disappeared. She had neither forgiven nor forgotten Stefan's actions, but those dark, painful emotions no longer constantly threatened to overwhelm her.

The child, however much she believed she hated it merely by its relation to Stefan, at least kept her occupied. As did antagonising the fairies who continued to bodge their role as aunts. Maleficent delighted in pulling pranks on them. Diaval failed to see the funny side, a fact which made it all the more fun for her as she watched the fairies' confused and panicked reactions. It made it even more amusing that they, more often than not, blamed each other for whatever Maleficent had inflicted upon them.

But all was not quite sunshine and roses. One night, not long after the child had been 'hidden' oh so effectively in the woods, Stefan had sent men from his massive army to the edge of the Moors, to attack with fire and axe the wall Maleficent had erected to protect her homeland and to shut out the world. The wall held, of course, as Maleficent used her magic to bring forth thorny tendrils as wide as the trunks of great oaks to strike back at Stefan's forces.

Predictably, considering the threat to her homeland, Maleficent had let few alive to return to Stefan and explain their failure. The visualisation of his displeasure made her success all the more sweet.

"You could have let them live, you know," Diaval told her distastefully after the few survivors had fled, leaving behind the crushed and bloodied remains of their fallen companions.

Maleficent gave him a sidelong glare. "And why," she questioned imperiously, "would I have done that?"

"They were only following orders, Mistress. Did they really deserve to lose their lives? You could have sent them all back with the message for Stefan that the moors are impenetrable and protected. You didn't need to kill them."

Maleficent pressed her lips together and stared at him in surprise. "I hadn't realised you had so much compassion," she stated coolly. "If you care so much for the _humans _-" she spat out the word "-perhaps I should send you back to live amongst them as a raven. Though, you may recall, that didn't work out so well for you in the past.

"Have you forgotten what men are like? What they do? They break, and take, and tear down! They deserve to die!" Diaval took a step back against the force of her words.

She hadn't meant to become so angry, but him coming to the defence of the men who had attacked the Moors - knowing they were there on Stefan's orders - had caused something inside her to snap. She took a deep breath and, with some effort, shrouded herself once more in stony calmness. Those men were nothing to her. And she did not wish to expend herself with giving them a second thought. Damn Diaval for riling her up so!

"Perhaps you need a little time to consider where your loyalties lie," she said. And with a flick of her wrist, Diaval was a raven once more. He took to the sky, cawing at her as he went.

It took a good few days before she relented and allowed him to return to his place by her side. Not because she missed him, of course. But because that was the rightful place for a loyal servant.


	19. Chapter 18 - Cliffhanger

Chapter 18

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.

A year or more passed by in a flash, and Maleficent and Diaval grew more and more accustomed to spending their days in the woods, near the little cottage. One sunny day, she sat - Diaval perched on a nearby branch - leaning against a mossy rock, munching on nuts and looking on as the 'aunts' laid out a picnic in a clearing nearby. Somehow, against all odds and with more than a little assistance from Maleficent and Diaval - somewhat reluctantly from he former and with great enthusiasm from the latter - the child had survived to its second birthday.

In boredom, Maleficent narrowed her eyes, raised her finger and made a plucking gesture whilst releasing a trickle of magic. At once, Flittle raised a hand suddenly to her hair and let out a little cry of surprise and pain.

"Ow!" Looking around, she glared at Thistlewit and tugged at a strand of her hair.

"Ow!" Thistlewit squawked indignantly and immediately pulled Flittle's hair in retaliation. Maleficent released another wave of magic to knock Knotgrass's hat from her head. She settled back and watched in growing amusement as the fairies began to strike out at one another, rolling around in the grass like wrestling children.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the child toddling after a butterfly. Unsurprisingly, her aunts failed to notice anything, so engrossed were they in their fighting. Maleficent watched as the child toddled closer and closer to the cliff-face, smiling and giggling and completely oblivious to the impending danger.

"Oh look," she said to Diaval in a bright tone. "The little beast is about to fall off the cliff." Diaval squawked in concern and flapped his wings urgently. Maleficent was glad he was not in his human form at that moment. He would only be a pest, and she couldn't abide pests. As the child moved closer and closer to the edge, Diaval covered his eyes with one wing, unable to watch the child plummet to its death. Maleficent waited until the last possible moment, struggling with herself. Part of her wanted to simply let the beast fall. It was Stefan's brat, after all.

But another part of her couldn't stand the thought of seeing the creature's broken body on the rocks below. She barely understood it herself. Could not quite pass it off as merely wanting to keep the child alive to allow he curse to play out. There was more to it than that. But, whatever the reason, just as the child fell and let out a scream, she flicked a finger towards the trees growing from the edge of the cliff. A branch gently caught the girl and brought her back to the cliff top, a safe distance away from the edge. Without a care in the world, the girl clutched at the butterfly that fluttered between her chubby little fingers and let out a peal of delighted laughter. Then it ran back towards its entirely oblivious 'aunts'.

Maleficent felt Diaval's beady little eyes boring into the back of her head.

"What?" she snapped, glowering down her nose at him and raising one eyebrow. He merely cocked his head at her, and again she felt relief that he was currently a raven and could not speak. She couldn't abide it when he was smug. Settling back onto the rock, she popped another nut into her mouth, closed her eyes, and continued her relaxing afternoon in the sun.

Diaval smiled to himself as he watched Maleficent reclining against the rock. Her features were calm, peaceful. She looked beautiful. Of course, he always thought she looked beautiful. But lately, she had been smiling more, appeared more relaxed, almost...happy wasn't quite the right word. He wasn't sure if there was a word that quite fit his mistress's mood of late. All he knew was he was enjoying her company more and more, and worrying about her less and less.

"Diaval, stop staring at me," she murmured suddenly without opening her eyes. He cawed loudly and shuffled about on the branch. He wanted to be able to talk with her, and being a raven was not hugely conducive to that aim. When she continued to ignore him, he fluttered down to land by her head and pecked at her shoulder, cawing again. She cracked open on eye and gave him a sidelong glare. He cawed again, tugging at the sleeve of her dress with his long beak.

Maleficent finally grew tired of his pestering and transformed him

"Yes?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow. "You have something you wish to say?"

"You saved her," Diaval remarked. He could see, day by day, his mistress softening towards the little princess. At the same time, he could see her struggling with that very fact.

"Of course I did," she surprised him by responding brightly. She smiled at him, but somehow her expression as she did it sent a chill down his spine. He shivered. "How is my curse supposed to take effect if she's dead at the bottom of a cliff? That would be no fun at all, now, would it?"

"Aw, come on mistress," he said teasingly. "Admit it: you care about her. Just a bit."

Abruptly, Maleficent sat up and turned to fully face him. Her eyes were flashing and Diaval felt his smile instantly dropping.

"I _care," _she spat_, "only _about the child living to see her 16th birthday so that my curse can take hold. I _care _about Stefan continuing to suffer for the next 14 years until that day comes. I _care _about keeping her alive until then for those reasons, and those reasons alone!"

She rose to her feet and glared furiously at him. "Don't you dare try to turn this into something sweet and heartwarming, Diaval. There are no happy endings here, not for me, not for Stefan, and not for the child!"

With that, Maleficent turned on her heel and stalked away into the forest, leaving Diaval in his human form watching her go.

"That went well," he muttered. Then, he followed her, keeping a respectful - and safe! - distance until they reached the moors...and for some time afterwards; it always took some time for Maleficent's temper to cool.


	20. Chapter 19 - Encounter

Chapter 19

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.

Some days after the cliff incident, she and Diaval - again as a raven - stood together in companionable silence, Maleficent in particularly good spirits having just flooded the treacherous trio with a flurry of unseasonable snow...indoors, of course.

Suddenly, her ears perceived the padding of little feet nearby, getting slowly closer and closer. Out of the bushes nearby, appeared the child, toddling along on chubby little legs. Maleficent felt an immediate wave of both revulsion and...something else she couldn't - or didn't want to - identify. She raised her head and stared down her nose at it for a long moment, as it made its way closer and closer, resisting the urge to back away. Not out of fear - of course - or even disgust. More simply out of a desire to keep her distance from the creature. It smiled and made a cheerful little sound, staring right back.

She made a shooing gesture towards the small human beast. "Go away," she instructed, instinctively changing her natural tone to one more suited for speaking to small children. "Go." It advanced on her. "Go away," she said again. It toddled ever closer. "I don't like children," she told it firmly. Then clicked her tongue as she felt chubby little arms gripping around her legs. She head Diaval clacking his beak and cawing in amusement.

"Up! Up!" came a little voice from around her knees. Realising the child wasn't going to go away, Maleficent rolled her eyes, reached down, and hefted the beast up on her hip. It gazed at her trustfully and smiled. Then, without warning, it reached out and clutched onto her horns.

Maleficent blinked as she felt little hands on a part of her no-one ever touched. Trusting, curious little hands. For a moment, she stood stock still, frozen in surprise and disbelief at what was happening.

Warmth radiated from the child in her arms as it dropped its hands to her shoulders and snuggled closer in to her body, and she found herself not entirely repulsed by the situation she found herself in. For a moment she forgot that she didn't like children. Forgot that this was Stefan's child. Forgot about the curse and her desire for vengeance. Forgot about anything except the feel of the child in her arms. It felt almost...nice? No! That would never do! Maleficent quickly released her grip and allowed the little girl to slip back down to the floor.

"Of you go," she instructed, giving her a gentle push. "Go go go." And she watched with an arched eyebrow as the toddler happily trotted back though the bushes and towards her home. She could feel Diaval's appraising eyes on her. Heard his amused caw.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered.


	21. Chapter 20 - Rejection

Chapter 20

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent or any of its characters.

More years passed, and Aurora grew into a pretty young girl. Whilst Maleficent continued to merely watch from a safe distance, Diaval spent much of his time physically with Aurora, playing various games of their own devising. He also maintained his duties looking out for any news from the castle. The two tasks kept him quite busy each day, and Maleficent found herself longing more for his company than she had before, with the sudden diminishing of his presence by her side.

One evening, he fluttered down into the ruins, where she sat on her bed awaiting his return from the castle. She transformed him as he landed and he smoothly stepped to the ground - fully accustomed to the change after so many years. He appeared agitated and refused to meet her gaze. Her curiosity was immediately peaked, her body going on the alert.

"What has happened?" she asked quickly, rising from the bed and moving to stand in front of him.

"There's been a...um...a...development, at the castle, Mistress," Diaval stammered.

"Yes? Spit it out, Diaval!" she snapped, resisting the urge to shake the news out of him. It was clearly something important. He was wasting time!

"The Queen is expecting again," he said very softly, seeming almost to hope she wouldn't hear him. Maleficent stepped backwards as his words penetrated her heart, feeling as if she had been physically punched in the chest.

"She's...pregnant...again?" she asked redundantly. She had understood him perfectly clearly the first time. Diaval nodded, eyeing her warily. "Stefan is to have another baby..." Maleficent felt on the verge of hysteria, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The pain and fury ripping through her chest was almost more than she could stand. She clutched her arms around herself and bent forwards at the waist, breathing in short, agonised gasps.

Falling to her knees, she threw back her head and screamed at the sky. Her hands pushed into the ground beneath her and he whole ruins began to shake as cracks spread from where her clawed fingers dug into the rocky earth. Her screamed trailed off and the shaking subsided, though the cracks remained like wounds in the earth.

She remained on her knees, breathing heavily. She stated like that for a long time, until her breathing had calmed and the worst of the pain had dulled.

"Mistress?" Diaval crouched in front her. She lifted her head and saw him peering at her in concern and distress. She noted the inky depths of his black eyes, the sharpness of his jaw, his slightly parted lips. "Mistress, what can I -"

She cut him off by leaning abruptly forwards and pressing her lips against his in a sudden and forceful kiss. At first, she felt him trying to pull back. She curled her fingers behind his neck to hold him in place as she slipped her tongue roughly between his lips. He responded then, kissing her back, their tongues touching and retreating.

Maleficent's hands roamed the muscles of his arms and shoulders, pulling his body in to hers as she did so, dragging and digging in her nails through his shirt. She felt him shudder and he let out a little gasp of pleasure. She clambered onto his lap, not breaking the contact of their lips, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Settling her still-clothed body onto his hardness, she rocked her hips to rub against him and heard him moan. He deepened the kiss even further.

She half expected - half wanted - to feel his hands on her. For him to touch her the way she was touching him. But he had clearly learnt his lesson, as his hands remained down behind him, resting on the ground to help him balance with her body wrapped around his.

She quickly divested him of his shirt. Removing her lips from his, she nipped at his neck and began to reach between them, hands grasping at the waistband of his trousers. To her surprise, before she could go any further, one of his hands wrapped around her wrist and pulled it back.

"No," he said . She pulled her arm free and looked at him in confusion. Moving in to kiss him once more, she was even more confused when he pulled his head back out of reach of her lips.

"Mistress, no," he said again. His hands went to her hips then, but only to push her gently off him. She shuffled backwards, feeling hurt and embarrassed at his unexpected rejection.

"What...what do you mean, 'no'?" she asked.

"I mean 'no'," he said, looking directly into her eyes, his expression firm and serious. "I'm not in the mood to be your plaything tonight. You're hurt, you're angry, you're upset. We both know exactly how this is going to end, and I don't want to play that game again! So...no. I won't do it."

"My...my _plaything_?" she said incredulously. "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"I've said what I have to say. So go ahead: send me away, turn me back into a raven, turn me into anything you want, just don't expected me to let you _fuck me -" _he used her own words against her "-and then dismiss me."

Maleficent gaped at him for a moment, unsure exactly how to react. A coldness spread through her chest even as a deep, hot flush blossomed on her face. For once in her life, she had no idea what to do or say. So, she did the first thing that popped into her head: she got up, turned on her heel, and walked quickly away into the night...before he could notice the tears that began to stream down her face.


	22. Chapter 21 - Found

Chapter 21

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Maleficent wandered the moors, walking until her feet ached, hiding her tears in the darkness. She felt humiliated and angry at Diaval's rejection of her. And at the same time, felt shame at the knowledge that she had inflicted exactly that upon him on more than one occasion. She hated what she had become, but her heart had been shut away so firmly, it seemed almost impossible now to reach...even if she wanted to do so.

Thoughts flashed through her mind of Stefan and his wife, _together _the way she had once longed to be with him. And now, happily expecting once again. She found herself shivering, though the night was not cold_._ She cursed herself for the physical need that burned within her, rising to a scorching furnace whenever her emotions overwhelmed her. Cursed herself for using Diaval in the way that she did to quench the flames. Cursed herself for feeling any sort of connection to her servant and companion. And cursed herself for keeping him near, complicating her already chaotic thoughts and emotions.

Maleficent sighed heavily. She wondered what Diaval was doing now, what he was feeling. She had not changed him back into his raven form, so the there was little likelihood of him finding her any time soon - if at all. She battled with herself over what to do next. Part of her cried out for her to curl up somewhere and drug herself into oblivion. Part of her wanted nothing more than to return to the ruins, curl up with Diaval by her side, and sleep.

Making a decision, she walked quickly towards the river, her throne, and her stash of calming plants and berries.

Some hours later, she sat in her throne with the comfort of the drink coursing through her. Her mood had only grown darker and more morose the more of the liquid she drank. She felt calmer, yes, more relaxed but certainly no happier. Yet still, she could not stop. Still she sought the sweet relief of the oblivion she knew it would eventually bring her. Perhaps, she considered, she should have made it stronger.

"_You're going to kill yourself if you keep on like this_." Diaval's words floated unbidden into her foggy brain. She wasn't entirely certain whether or not such an outcome still appealed. Then she thought of the baby and her hopeless 'aunts'. If she were not there to see to it that the child wasn't accidentally killed - dropped on its head, for example, or poisoned with inedible foods - how could the curse be fulfilled? How could Maleficent achieve her ultimate revenge on the man who had deliberately and irrevocably damaged her? That, and that alone - of course! - was the reason for her hesitation when the thought of Aurora passed through her mind. Nothing more...

Abruptly, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of cracking branches and rustling leaves. She tensed and spun round, magic prickling at her fingertips...and saw Diaval emerge from the thicket to her right. She let the magic dissipate and regarded him silently. So much for not finding her.

It was too dark to be able to read his expression. But she could see the tension in his body. His fists clenched and unclenched by his sides, though whether through anger or anxiety she could not be sure.

"So," she said, keeping any emotion from her voice. "You found me."

"It would certainly appear so," he replied. His expression was equally unreadable. Most unusual. And most frustrating. She was used to him wearing his heart on his sleeve. He regarded her silently for a long moment, and she found herself struggling to hold his gaze. Shame cut through her afresh at the raw memory of her earlier actions and his rejection. Stronger now upon actually standing before him, his deep black eyes gazing at her. Uncharacteristically, she felt the need to say something. To - her lip curled distastefully at the very thought - _apologise_.

"Diaval, I-" she began hesitantly.

He held up a hand to stop her.

"Mistress, it's alright. You don't need to say anything. We don't need to talk about it." That surprised her. Diaval, the king of 'talking about it', letting her off the hook that easily? She found her shame growing at that, and her eyes involuntarily filled with tears.


	23. Chapter 22 - Explanations

Chapter 22

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

You've been drinking that concoction of yours, haven't you?" Diaval asked softy. Looking away from him, Maleficent neither confirmed nor denied; there was no need - he knew he signs, could always tell. She bit back the overwhelming urge to lash out at him as she had before when he commented on such things. But she wasn't in the mood for an argument. Had neither the energy nor the inclination to rant or rave or transform him with her magic into something repellent.

Instead, she walked past him and sank, somewhat unsteadily, onto the soft moss on the ground just in front of her throne. Resting her back against the smooth bark of the seat, she closed her eyes.

"Sit with me?" she requested as she heard Diaval approached with wary steps. When he didn't move, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Don't worry," she stated flatly, "I'm not going to jump on you. Just sit down." He did, settling on the moss in front of her.

"Diaval," she said with wholly uncharacteristic hesitancy. "I need to tell you something, to try and explain why...why I..." she frowned and let out a frustrated sigh. What was she supposed to say? Why I asked you to fuck me and then kicked you out when you had done exactly what I asked of you'? 'Why I slept with you again and then ran away'? 'Why I tried to do the same again tonight with no concern about how it might affect you'? 'Why I escape any meaningful conversation with you by turning you into all manner of demeaning forms when all you want to do is help and support me'?

"Why I may have treated you unfairly in the past," was what she managed to say. It was the mother of all understatements. "And why I may have appeared to you to have overreacted at the news you brought from the castle earlier."

Diaval nodded slowly. "Alright," he replied in an unreadable tone. "I'm listening."

And so, slowly, falteringly, she explained about what had happened between her and Stefan the night he had taken her wings. Told him what else he had taken from her. Told him about his seeming tenderness. His whispered professions of love. About how she had believed every word...and had given him her innocence, her heart and body, willingly and happily.

"It was after we...afterwards, that he drugged me," she finished. "The rest, you already know." She stared down at her hands for a long moment, then forced herself to look into Diaval's eyes. He regarded her sadly, but remained silent, seeming to be waiting for her to say more.

She continued, "I've done what I've done with you to try to fill something inside me, the wound he left, not by cutting off my wings, but by his utter betrayal of my trust. I've done it because he awakened...something inside of me - a physical need I never had before.

"I can't stand you touching me because it takes me right back to that night. I refuse to trust you because he stole that ability from me. I treat you badly because you remind me of the boy I fell in love with. But that boy never really existed. Or, if he did, he ceased to be a long time ago.

"I know no amount of apology nor explanation can excuse my actions. But I...I _am_ sorry, Diaval." One rogue tear escaped from the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek. A moment passed with Diaval regarding her, his expression still unreadable.

Then he reached forward with one hand stretched towards her cheek, stopping just short of touching her. When she leaned her head towards his hand, he wiped away the single tear with gentle fingers. Much to her dismay, more followed. She swallowed heavily and drew in a choking breath, trying to get herself under control. So long had it been since she had allowed herself to actively think about the way Stefan had used her in every way for his own gains, she had almost forgotten just how much pain the memory could bring.

Slowly, hesitantly, she leaned her body into Diaval's. When she was met with no reaction from him, she stiffened momentarily before it crossed her mind that he was giving her the physical space he assumed she needed by not touching her.

"Hold me," she said in a tone somewhere between a plea and an order. Feeling his arms wrap hesitantly around her, she rested her head on his shoulder and, for once, allowed herself to be comforted as she cried.


	24. Chapter 23 - Curiousity

Chapter 23

**A/N: Thank you so much to Visionary-Writer and StarTraveler for your continued reviews. They make me happy, and happy Strawberries post new chapters more quickly ;-). **

**As always, thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**.

A few months after that night - months in which Maleficent found herself enjoying Diaval's company more and more, much to her disgust - the news came that the queen had died, taking with her the unborn child. Maleficent took in this news with a combination of cold pleasure at Stefan's loss, and slight pity for the hapless queen - who, from what Diaval had gathered, had been sorely mistreated by Stefan towards the end of her life.

Diaval gleaned little of any interest from the castle in the ensuring years, while Diaval and Maleficent watched over Aurora as she grew from a toddler to a child, to a happy and beautiful young woman. The girl delighted in the world around her, viewing everything with wide-eyed curiosity.

One evening, when Aurora was about 14, Maleficent watched on from a distance as the girl approached the wall of thorns. She had done so before, many times, and had asked her aunts about it, many times. But they had pleaded ignorance as to its origin and what lay behind it. On this particular evening, aurora reached out towards the thorns as if seeking a way through.

"Curious little beastie," Maleficent commented to Diaval. Suddenly, the sound of voices and the smell of burning assailed her senses and she stiffened. Looking past Aurora, she could see a gathering of men in the distance. Men with weapons and fire. Stefan's men.

_What fun_! She thought; it had been far too long since she'd been provided with any sport. Gazing sidelong at Diaval, she instructed, "Bring them to me." He nodded grimly before she transformed him into a wolf and watched him tear off into the misty dusk, moving to herd the men in her direction.

Stepping out from behind a tree, Maleficent blew a puff of magic towards Aurora as she passed her. It sent the girl into magical stasis, floating in a prone position above the ground. Hearing Diaval baying from nearby, Maleficent approached the men slowly, deliberately, fearlessly. She shrouded the woods in a deep mist as she moved, until it became impossible to see more than your own hand in front of your face.

The men were scared. Maleficent could practically smell their fear. And that was before they had even spotted her! Maleficent felt a cold smile spreading across her face as Diaval prowled out of the undergrowth behind the frightened men, snarling and drooling from his razor-sharp teeth. Yes, Maleficent thought in satisfaction, this _would _be fun.

And so it was! The men were efficiently dispatched, and it was over. All too quickly for Maleficent's liking - she would have been happy had the sport been more drawn-out, more painful...for them, at least. Making a noise of disappointment, Maleficent gazed dispassionately for a moment at the bodies in front of her. Then, out of curiosity, she crouched down and reached out a hand towards a helmet on the ground by her feet. She flinched and quickly withdrew her hand at the sudden burning sensation. Iron! Of course, Stefan would use his knowledge of fairies, knowledge he had gained only through their friendship, against her. Damn him!

Before she could give it much more thought, Diaval passed up behind her and she transformed him and turned to face him.

He dusted off his hands and glowered at her. "How could you do that to me?" He seemed genuinely angry! Maleficent was taken aback for a moment.

"You said anything I need!" she retorted.

As he whined on about his distaste for dogs, Maleficent rolled her eyes, sighed in exasperation and walked away, heading back towards the frozen princess.

"Fine," she said brightly at a momentary pause in his indignant whinging. "Next time I'll turn you into a mealy worm." It had been his own suggestion, and rather a good one, she reflected. Unfortunately, she reflected as his whinging continued, a mealy worm was of little use to her, so instead she changed him back into a raven mid-word.


	25. Chapter 24 - Godmother

Chapter 24

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Alone now with the princess - frozen, floating - Maleficent wondered exactly what to do with her. She had shown such curiosity about what was behind the wall, and for reasons she could not comprehend Maleficent found herself longing to show the girl the wonders of the moors. To share her homeland with someone she knew would appreciate its unique beauty.

"I wonder," she murmured. Then, making up her mind, she opened up a hole in the wall of thorns and stepped through with Aurora floating in her wake.

Once inside the moors, near the lake at its centre, Maleficent released the hold of her magic on the princess, who sank gently to the ground before slowly awakening. Maleficent stood behind a tree, in the shadows, and watched as the girl marvelled at the wondrous world around her. Maleficent could practically feel the girl's wide-eyed joy emanating from the her. She was reminded of a young fairy who had once held a similar joyful, innocent view of the world. Young. Naive. But that fairy was long gone. Her innocence had been stolen, her joy shut down.

Maleficent was pulled from her thoughts by the sensation of being watched. She looked up and saw Aurora staring through the trees in her direction.

"I know you're there," the girl said unexpectedly in a soft, gentle tone. "Don't be afraid."

The words made Maleficent chuckle. "I am not afraid," she answered.

Aurora shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Then come out," she suggested.

"Then you will be afraid," Maleficent responded softly.

But Aurora shook her head. "No I won't."

After a moment of hesitation, Maleficent stepped out of the shadows and stood before Aurora for the first time since she had been a small child. Aurora rocked back on her heels, then leaned forwards again towards Maleficent.

"I know who you are," Aurora spoke, and Maleficent felt a chill run down her spine.

"Do you?" she asked warily.

Aurora nodded with a smile so sweet it would have melted any heart. But Maleficent's her heart was locked for my away. She felt nothing. '_Nothing,' _she repeated firmly in her own mind. And then, the girl said something so unexpected, so bizarre, that for a moment Maleficent was left speechlessly gaping.

"You're my fairy godmother!"

Maleficent froze for a moment in pure shock at he ridiculousness of the girl's pronouncement. She blinked. "What?" was all she could think to say.

"My fairy Godmother," Aurora repeated confidently. And she described her side of the story of her upbringing to Maleficent. How she had always known she was being watched over. How she had seen Maleficent's shadow follow her movements from the time she was a young girl.

She smiled as she spoke with confidence and faith in the idea that Maleficent was somehow there to care for and look after her. Maleficent felt her heart flutter slightly within its cage, as though longing to be set free. She quashed the feeling firmly, distracting herself by bringing Diaval into the conversation. He greeted Aurora chivalrously, giving her a kiss on her hand, and for a moment maleficent felt the uncomfortable sensation of jealousy spread through her. She quashed that, too.

Quickly, as the girl's ebullient words began to grate, and she bounced just that little bit to close for Maleficient's liking, she once more blew a puff of magic at her. Straight away, Aurora floated into stasis, leaving behind the sweet relief of immediate silence. Maleficent pursed her lips, her thoughts and emotions swirling in confusion in her brain. Why had she let he girl into the moors? Why had she revealed herself to her? _Interacted _with her? She could _feel _Diaval smirking behind her. Clearly enjoying those very facts.

"Shut up," she snapped without turning. His smirk turned into an amused chuckle. "Into a mealy worm," she said with a quick flick of her fingers. Let him chuckle about that on his long wriggle home!

Turning her attention once more to the mercifully silent Aurora, Maleficent led the girl back through the moors, out through the thorny wall and back to the little cottage in the woods, where her aunts snored away in blissful ignorance of their young charge's nighttime adventure.

As Maleficent lowered Aurora onto her bed and pulled up the covers, allowing the girl to slip from stasis to sleep, she felt that flutter once more in her chest. "Goodnight, beastie," she murmured softly through the window. She felt a strange warmth spread through her, quite outside of her control. A feeling of... could it be tenderness? Maleficent closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to block out that emotion as she had blocked out all emotions except anger. Much to her annoyance, it went nowhere.

'I need to get away. Now!' Maleficent thought urgently. And, for he first time in a long time, went to spread her wings and take to the air. A phantom pain from her scarred stumps washed over her and she stumbled, catching herself on her staff. Biting her lip to keep from crying out, Maleficent steadied herself for moment and then hurried away into the night, fighting thoughts and emotions far beyond her control.


	26. Chapter 25 - Worm

Chapter 25

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

As dawn began to break over the horizon, Diaval finally found his way back to the ruins. He had been fortunate in managing to ride halfway across the moors on the back of an obliging wallerbog.

As he slithered up the steps, he heard his mistress's voice. He froze for a moment, wondering who she was talking to. But as he raised his slimy little head, he saw her pacing her room, alone and muttering to herself, too quietly for him to distinguish more than a few words.

Wondering how to get her attention, he was surprised when he suddenly found himself shifting into human form. Maleficent stood facing him with one arched eyebrow.

"Welcome back, my little worm. And what did we learn from our long slither home?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest and glowering archly at him.

"To stay a safe distance away from your magic," he answered dutifully. Her lips quirked into a half smile, and he grinned broadly at her. He loved to see her smile. It happened so rarely.

"Did I miss much?" he asked, hoisting himself onto the wall behind him and settling there.

"No," Maleficent replied with an unreadable and unfamiliar look in her bright green eyes. "I just took the little beast home and put her to bed."

Her voice sounded different now when she mentioned Aurora. He had noticed, following their encounter with the infant in the woods all those years back, that she had stopped referring to the child as 'it'. Had noticed a softening in her eyes whenever she was close to the girl, and now her voice held something close to tenderness when she spoke of putting Aurora to bed. Even her choice of words was uncharacteristic. He wondered if his mistress was beginning to thaw.

"I can hear you thinking, you know," Maleficent interrupted him. "I can see what's going on in that little brain if yours. Stop it. I don't care about the little beast. It was simply...pleasant...to see someone enjoying the moors. I -"

"You thought she'd like it?" he finished for her.

Neither confirming nor denying that assessment, Maleficient turned away.

"I need to sleep," was all she said. "So do you." And she transformed him into a raven to allow him to fly up to his nest above her bed. She had never allowed him to sleep near her in human form. Perhaps, one day, she would.

'One can only hope,' he thought to himself before sleep caught up with him.


	27. Chapter 26 - Revocation

Chapter 26

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Over the next few months, Maleficent allowed Aurora into the moors more and more frequently. She showed her its wonders: more and more, day by day. The young princess learnt the names of many of the fairies residing in the land, and they grew to know her, and love her. Maleficent herself was becoming aware of a warmth spreading through her whenever the girl was near. Of the continued fluttering in her chest, like powerful wings beating frantically for escape. Of the small, tender smile that often graced her lips as she watched Aurora, spoke to her, listened to her.

One day, while she watched, Aurora found herself pulled into in an energetic mud fight with a group of wallerbogs. Maleficent couldn't hold back the indulgent smile as she watched the princess become smothered in mud. She giggled and gave as good as she got.

Splat! A stray handful of mud, thrown by a nearby wallerbog, stuck Maleficent square in the cheek. Her eyes widened in shock, and she could see the offending creature shrink back, peering up at Maleficient in fear. The whole clearing froze for a moment. Then, abruptly, the silent stillness was broken by peels of laughter. Diaval. Maleficent took one look at him - practically falling from his seat as he cackled away - and immediately magicked a cascade of sloppy mud directly onto his face. That shut him up pretty quickly.

Turning back with a satisfied smirk, Maleficent heard the giggles of not just Aurora, but also of the assembled fair folk. Her heart fluttered once again. The walls she had built up around it no longer held firm, and she felt a sense of pure happiness wash over her.

That night, as Aurora and her aunts slept, Maleficent crept into the cottage. She released a quick burst of green smoke towards all four sleeping figures to ensure they would not awaken. She gazed upon Aurora's peaceful face and felt pain in her newly found heart. Pain at the thought of anything happening to the child. It was at that moment that she realised: she could not stand to see Aurora suffer the consequences of her father's betrayal. She was not Stefan. This sweet, innocent child who loved the moors and all its inhabitants, did not deserve such a fate. And, more to the point, Maleficent could no longer bear the thought of being the one to bring any harm upon her.

"I revoke my curse," she said softly. "Let it be no more." And as she spoke, golden magic began to swirl around her, emanating from her hands and reaching out towards the sleeping princess. Green magic rose from Aurora at the same time, as if being drawn from the girl herself. "I revoke my curse. Let it be no more," Maleficent repeated with more force. The magic between them grew, the green from her original curse pulling back against Maleficent's continued efforts to draw it out. "I revoke my curse! Let it be no more!" She shouted now. Still the curse fought to cling on.

Raising her hands and stepping forward, with everything she had Maleficent forced every scrap of magic, with her every scrap of strength, against that resistant force surrounding Aurora. "_I revoke my curse! Let it be no more!" _she shouted, her voice reverberating around the cottage and echoing into the night. "_Let it be no more_!"

For a moment, it seemed to be working. But then the curse snapped back into Aurora, sending the full force of Maleficent's magic back into her like a spring recoiling.

Her own words whispered and echoed through her ears_: 'This curse will last til the end of time. No power on Earth can change it_.'

'_No!' _Maleficent screamed internally.

Stumbling quickly on trembling legs, Maleficient dragged herself outside before falling to her knees. "It's _my _curse," she screamed at the moon. "I take it back! I want to _take it back_!" But the moon gazed down, cold and uncaring. And the curse remained. Tears rolled down Maleficent's cheeks. She lowered her head until her forehead touched the cool ground, tears falling unchecked from her eyes. "I take it back," she sobbed. "Please! I have to take it back!" But the curse remained.

'_This curse will last til the end of time. No power on Earth can change it_.' The words floated around her again, mocking her with their finality. There would be no taking it back. He curse was set, by her hand, and not even her hand could lift it. The curse remained.


	28. Chapter 27 - Fallout

Chapter 27

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

It was nearing dawn by the time Maleficent finally dragged herself to her feet. Only then did she lift the sleeping spell she had cast upon the cottage. Instead of returning home - she was too exhausted to move far on her trembling legs - she staggered unsteadily though the undergrowth and up to the isolated, secluded spot where she and Diaval had watched Aurora the day she had almost fallen from the cliff. Pain erupted in Maleficent's chest at that memory.

'I saved her then,' she thought bitterly. 'Surely there must be some way to save her now!' But there was none. The curse was irrevocable...just as she had intended.

Sitting - or almost falling - where she had sat so many times before, watching the little girl grow up, brought with a fresh wave of memories and a fresh wave of pain and regret. "What have I done?" Maleficent whispered, taking in a shaking breath and burying her head on her bent knees.

Sometime later, she was awoken from a sleep she hadn't realised had overtaken her by the prodding of something sharp on her hand and a loud cawing in her ear. Stiff muscles groaned in protest as she raised her head and blinked against the sudden bright light assaulting her eyes. The sun, it seemed, was back to its old tricks. She remembered a morning, many years ago, when it had mocked her pain with its happy smile. It did the same today.

She flicked her hand towards the cawing as her eyes adjusted to the light and when she finally managed to look up, Diaval was crouched next to her, concern hovering in the inky depths of his eyes.

"I've just spent half the night scouring the moors for you," he stated. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't do it," Maleficent whispered. She looked into his eyes as tears once more filled hers. "I tried but...I couldn't make it stop." A look of recognition tinged with surprise crossed Diaval's chiselled features.

"You're talking about the curse, aren't you?" he asked. She scrubbed her hand across her wet eyes and nodded. Then she met his eye again.

"I tried, Diaval," she sniffled. "I tried to take it back, but I couldn't. Aurora has two months. Two more months before..." She couldn't even bring herself to think of it, let alone say it out loud. She learned in towards Diaval and pulled his arms around her. They hung hesitantly where she had placed them for a moment before tightening around her trembling body. Maleficent wrapped her own arms around his strong shoulders and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

As the moment continued, Maleficent found herself longing to feel Diaval's lips upon hers. Not in anger, not for release or relief from a burning physical need. No, this felt different in ways she could not define exactly. She pressed her lips gently against his neck and heard the soft sigh of his breath at the touch, felt his body stiffen slightly. She raised her head from his shoulder and pressed her lips oh so softly against his. Felt him resist for a moment. Then, he kissed her back.


	29. Chapter 28 - Passion

Chapter 28

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. **

It was so unlike their previous kisses. Soft. Warm. Infused with meaning and tenderness. This entirely new sensation sent a jolt to her heart, and to her core. Diaval's hand lifted to cup her face, his thumb wiping away the vestiges of tears from her pale cheek. Instead of pulling back at his touch, she leaned into it.

Their kiss deepened, and she ran her tongue over his upper lip, requesting access rather than taking. When his lips parted in acquiescence, she slipped in her tongue and gently flicked it against his. He responded in kind, and their tongues moved delicately in perfect harmony together. Maleficent let out a soft sigh. She ran her fingers gently over his shoulders and down his back, then raised one hand up again to cup the back of his head and pull his mouth closer to her, kissing him more deeply now but no less tenderly.

Diaval's own hands began trailing over her shoulders. She didn't stop him; rather, delighted in the sensation. She shivered in pleasure and, emboldened by this, Diaval's fingers began a gentle journey down her arms and round to her lower back. She squirmed slightly as he found a ticklish spot, but still she did not stop his exploration of her body. Pulling him down with her as she lay back onto the grass, Maleficent broke their kiss for a moment. She opened her eyes. Gazed into the inky depths of his.

His pupils were slightly dilated, his breathing heavy and his lips parted. He raised his eyebrows quizzically at her, seemed about to ask something. But Maleficent wanted nothing to break this spell of this moment between them. She cut him off by pressing her lips once more against his.

Diaval rested his body above hers, holding his weight up on his forearms while his fingers ran over her shoulders and upper arms. Maleficent felt momentarily bereft when his lips left hers seconds later, but then the sensation of those soft, warm lips on her neck wiped all thought from her mind. She tilted her head to give him better access. Kisses trailed down her neck and across her collarbones. She shivered again and let out a soft moan. Felt his lips curve into a smile against her even as his kisses trailed back up and his lips found hers once more.

She tugged at the hem of his shirt and he lifted his body momentarily to allow her to pull it over his head. Running her fingers over his warm back, she heard his breathing quicken. His kisses trailed once more down her neck, dipping lower to where the swell of her breasts met the neckline of her dress. He reached for the laces at the bodice, but hesitated before untying them, giving her the opportunity to stop him if she wished. She did not wish. With the delicious sensations coursing through her body - and her heart - she had no desire for him to stop what he was doing. Ever.

Diaval slowly pulled at the laces, slowly revealed her upper body. She felt her nipples harden as he eased the front of her dress open. His lips went immediately to one whilst he ensured the other was not ignored, circling it gently with his thumb. She gasped in a shuddering breath at the sensation. Another jolt of desire went right to her core. She felt a wetness begin to form between her legs.

Maleficent laid her head back on the grass and revelled in the pleasure generated by his hands and mouth. She brought one hand to the back of his neck, encouraging him to continue. She felt his wet tongue flick across her nipple and couldn't stop herself from crying out softly. Her core grew almost painful in its need. She longed for his touch there. As if sensing this, Diaval's free hand reached down, grazing its way down her leg as far as he could reach then sliding back up, bunching up the skirts of her dress a it moved. She felt the cool morning air on her bare legs and shivered, though not from cold. There was enough heat between them to melt all the snow of winter.

Then, his fingers began stroking with feather light touches across the insides of her thighs, slow and teasing. Her legs spread and his hand dipped between them to graze her centre, feeling the wetness there. She let out a long shuddering moan and closed her eyes at the touch. Her hold in his hair tightened. Growing in confidence, Diaval stroked his thumb against her hard nub and Maleficent cried out, gasping in little breaths. Never had she felt this much desire, never had she experienced such physical sensations, never had she felt so close to another person, and yet still not close enough. She reached between their bodies and undid his trousers, pushing them awkwardly down over his hips whilst trying not to do anything that would cause his thumb to stop its delicious movements against her. He somehow kicked them off the rest of the way without breaking contact.

Then, his hand disappeared, to be replaced by his hardness. A deep moan escaped his lips at the contact. He rubbed slowly against her wetness, positioning himself at her entrance but not yet giving her what she so desperately desired, so desperately needed. Her breathing was heavy, her eyes half closed and swirling dark green with desire. He looked into them with deep tenderness.

"Mistress, are you su-"

Maleficent eyes snapped fully open. She silenced him quickly with one finger over his lips. "Don't say it," she pleaded softly. Her brain swiftly blocked out the sudden intrusive memory of another voice, another man, asking her that same question long ago. She had no desire to pursue that train of thought at that moment.

Instead, she pulled his head down towards her. As their lips met, she felt him enter her. She drew in and then released a long, shuddering breath and her eyes squeezed shut as exquisite pleasure jolted through her whole body from her core. They moved as one. Diaval buried his face in the crook between her beck and her shoulder and planted soft kissed there as his breathing quickened. Maleficent heard soft moans in her ear, and those sounds sent a fresh jolt of pleasure running through her. She wrapped her arms tightly around Diaval's quivering body, drawing him closer to her. Felt the pleasure of feeling his naked chest against hers. Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled him in deeper with each thrust.

Growing closer and closer to her peak, Maleficient began to moan softly, rhythmically, in time with his thrusts. She heard his moans grow more urgent as his shaft pushed in harder and deeper. Heard her name escape his lips. Felt her centre tightening as she grew closer and closer to falling over the edge. And then, she peaked explosively, throwing back her head and crying out. Pleasure rolled through her again and and again, and her centre spasmed around him. The sensation pushed Diaval over the edge too and he stiffened and grunted heavily into her shoulder as he found his own release.

They lay there, shuddering and breathing heavily, dripping with sweat, until she felt him soften within her. Rolling off her, Diaval lay back and took her gently in his arms. She lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Not running away today?" he asked slightly breathlessly after a moment.

She shook her head and gave him a tired smile, stating simply, "there's nowhere else I want to be."


	30. Chapter 29 - Aurora

Chapter 29

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Hours later, the entwined pair were pulled from exhausted sleep by the sound of cheerful singing from the clearing down below. _Aurora_. Knowing they were well-hidden where they lay, Maleficent was slow to move. Stretching languorously, she lifted her head from Diaval's shoulder and reached down to put her skirts back in place and to re-lace her bodice. Diaval kissed her lips softly, then stood and pulled on his clothes. Reaching down for her hand, he pulled her to her feet.

"We'd better go and meet the beastie before she gets herself hopelessly lost looking for us," Maleficent said. Remembering the events of the previous night, her breath caught in her throat and the pain that had been temporarily wiped out by the experience she had shared with Diaval came rushing back over her.

With a heavy heart, she followed Diaval back through the undergrowth and towards the still-cursed princess.

Two months later, two days before her 16th birthday, Aurora sat, once more in her Godmother's beautiful homeland, reclining on the soft green moss. Surrounded by the fair folk, she felt happier, more at home, than she ever had before. Whilst she loved her aunts, growing up with only them for company had been rather tiresome and extremely lonely. In fact, she hadn't realised just how lonely she had been until she had found herself surrounded by the life, love and laughter of the Moorland creatures.

Diaval sat nearby, his back up against a rock, his eyes closed. Her Godmother was sitting some distance away, seeming to doze, though Aurora knew better. Godmother was ever aware of her surroundings. In fact, Aurora would bet the tall, beautiful fairy slept with one eye open. Although, Aurora reflected, she _had_ appeared tired and out of sorts when she and Diaval had met her near her cottage earlier, though she had claimed to be fine. Perhaps she truly was asleep.

"Diaval," Aurora said softly. "Do _you _know what happened to godmother's wings? I asked her, but she just said they were stolen from her, and told me not to ask any more questions."

"And in response to that you decided to ask more questions?" Diaval opened one eye and looked pointedly at her.

"I don't mean to be nosey...exactly," Aurora tried to explain. "I just...I feel like I _need _to know. Like it's important to me somehow. Oh, I don't know," she sighed and pulled herself up on her elbows. "Maybe I _am _just being nosey. You do know though, don't you?"

Diaval sat up and regarded her for a moment before nodding. "I do. But it's not my story to tell. Your Godmother -" his lips seemed to quirk slightly every time he spoke that word "- would kill me with her bare hands if I were to tell you something she had expressly told you not to ask about."

Aurora felt a jolt of surprise at his words. Godmother, murdering someone with her bare hands? She just couldn't picture it. Yes, the fairy could be aloof at times, and was almost impossible to read, but she was kind and gentle, and had been watching over Aurora since she was just a baby. She could never hurt anyone!

But then...she had noticed the other fair folk shying away from her Godmother, keeping their distance. They did seem...wary of her. All except Diaval, that was. Aurora tapped her chin thoughtfully as she regarded the raven-man. Oblivious to being watched, his gaze was on her Godmother, as it so often was. His eyes were soft, his lips curving in a smile.

"What's on your mind, Aurora?" he said suddenly. Not so oblivious, clearly!

"Oh, nothing much," she said breezily. "I was just wondering when you're going to tell Godmother you love her, that's all."

Diaval spluttered and sat up so quickly he bashes his head into an overhanging branch. Clutching at his forehead, he gawped at Aurora.

"When am I...? That I...? ..._What_?" he stammered. His eyes flickered towards the fairy in question, but her eyes were still closed and, besides, she was too far away to hear them.

"That you love her," Aurora grinned at him, showing her pearly white teeth. Diaval made a shushing gesture with his hands.

"Stop saying that!" he begged in a near-whisper.

"I notice you're not denying it," Aurora pointed out, a smile still gracing her lips.

"We are not having this conversation, Aurora," Diaval said firmly. Aurora's smile grew at the continued lack of deniable. She knew it!

Just then, the fairy herself called out Aurora's name, causing Diaval to leap into the air. "Don't even _think _about sharing any of this...this craziness with your Godmother!" he ordered in a desperate whisper.

"Oh, I would never say anything," Aurora assured him, rising to her feet. "I promise." She began to skip merrily away, calling over her shoulder, "I'll leave that up to you!"

She heard his growl following her and giggled to herself. Now all she had to figure out was how to get her Godmother to admit her feelings towards Diaval. That, she reflected as she approached the inscrutable fairy, might be a little more difficult...


	31. Chapter 30 - Plans

Chapter 30

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Aurora's golden waves glinted in the sunlight that dappled through the trees as she approached Maleficent. Her wide blue eyes shine brightly in barely repressed glee and amusement and Maleficent pondered momentarily on what she and Diaval could had been discussing to produce such an expression. She smiled fondly at the girl even as her stomach roiled and her heart fluttered uneasily in her chest.

Maleficent had come to a decision. It had not been an easy one to arrive at, but she could see no other way forwards. With the day of the curse's fulfilment looming dangerously close, Maleficent was prepared to try anything to keep Aurora safe. So, she had resolved to tell the princess everything. If she knew the dangers, understood the reasons, perhaps Aurora could remain safe. Perhaps Maleficent would be able to keep her safe. Now, she just had to find the words.

"Sit down," Maleficent said to Aurora when the girl stepped up to where she sat on a large tree root. Watched her sit, noting, not for the first time, just how beautiful and graceful she had become. Exactly as the words of he curse had stated. Hesitating for a moment, Maleficent tried to find the right words.

"There's something I have to tell you," she said softly.

Aurora regarded her seriously, a slight frown of worry on her face at the seriousness of Maleficent's tone. "What is it?" she asked.

Maleficent looked into her eyes and felt her heart begin to pound painfully. She knew this could be the end of everything between her and Aurora. She wouldn't blame the princess if she never wanted to speak to her again after hearing what she had to say. But Maleficent could survive that. What she could not survive, could not begin to even consider, was knowing that Aurora was as good as dead. And know that she, herself, hadn't done everything within her power to prevent that.

"There is an evil in this world," she began, "and I cannot keep you from it."

"I'm almost 16 Godmother," Aurora replied solemnly. "I can take care of myself." Maleficent would have chuckled at that had the circumstances been different. Instead, she felt her heart begin to fracture at the girl's innocent sincerity.

"I understand," said Maleficent gently. She took a deep breath, preparing herself. "But that is not what I have to tell -"

"-I have a plan," Aurora spoke over the words Maleficent had been so carefully preparing. She sighed softly and looked down, wishing things weren't so difficult. Wishing they weren't so complicated. Wishing they could be different.

"When I'm older," Aurora continued, "I'm going to live here in the moors with you!" Her eyes sparkled in excitement and she was blissfully oblivious to Maleficent's inner struggle. "Then we can look after each other."

Immediately, Maleficient looked up, hope blossoming in her chest. If Aurora did indeed come to live in the moors, the Maleficent could the curse at bay - there were no spinning wheels in the moors. No spinning wheel, no spindle, no curse. It was perfect!

She met Aurora's excited gaze. "You don't have to wait until you're older - you could live here now!" Maleficent tried to keep the eagerness she felt out of her voice, struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

Aurora jumped to her feet in child-like joy and spun around. "Then I will!" she exclaimed. "I'll sleep in a tree, and eat berries and black nuts, and all the fair people will be my friends! I'm going to tell my aunties tomorrow." She turned back to face Maleficent, who stood and watched on in hopeful silence. This was the answer. It _had _to be the answer!

"Until tomorrow," was all she said. And she watched Aurora bounce excitedly away.


	32. Chapter 31 - Philip

Chapter 31

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Later that afternoon, Maleficent and Diaval - both unable to stay away - watched from a safe distance as Aurora paced back and forth in the woods near her home. She was rehearsing what she was to say to her aunts.

"And you really think this is the answer?" Diaval asked Maleficent. "Her staying here in the moors? You think that will circumvent the curse?"

"Did you have a better plan in mind to keep her safe? Because I'm all ears!" Maleficent snapped. "I have no idea if this is the answer, but I don't know what else to do!"

Suddenly, a horse and rider appeared from beyond their view and approached Aurora. A man! Maleficent raised her hand instinctively, green magic swirling at her fingertips. Diaval put a calming hand on her arm. Maleficent clicked her tongue at that but lowered her hand. "Go and keep a closer eye on them," she said, and transformed Diaval into his natural form.

She watched uneasily as Aurora and the boy spoke. She saw the way they looked at one another, smiled at one another. Maleficent was reminded painfully of another such meeting between a young boy and a young girl. She tensed. Then, with some difficulty, she stilled her mind, calmed herself.

"Well, I'd better be off then," the boy - Phillip - told Aurora with some reluctance. He gave a courteous bow and smiled a charming smile. "Goodbye."

Aurora hesitated visibly, the trotted after him. "Will you be back this way?" she questioned when she caught up.

He turned from his horse and gave her another winning smile. "Nothing could stop me," he replied.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and her lip curled as the two assured one another they would meet again. It was all just so..._sweet. _Too sweet. Diaval returned to her side. He flapped and cawed irrepressibly while she watched Aurora, who still stood with a goofy grin on her face as Phillip rode away. Diaval continued to caw, flying at Maleficent's head.

"Stop it," she ordered perfunctorily without looking at him. She was taking in the expression on the girl's face. He flew at her again and with a snap of her fingers he transformed into a man. He leaned in and grinned at her with barely repressed excitement. He was practically jumping up and down in his glee.

"Well?" he asked eagerly. Maleficent turned her head and eyed him blankly. "That boy's the answer!"

Maleficent couldn't help it. Her face cracked into a broad smile and she laughed quickly. "No, Diaval," she said firmly, turning away.

"'True love's kiss', remember! It can break the spell!" he told her with such earnest in his tone that she felt almost bad for him when she turned back to face him and bit off the words:

"'True love's kiss'? Haven't you worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there's no such thing!"

Diaval took a step away from her, an affronted expression crossing his features. She felt almost guilty.

"Well, that might be how you feel," he grumbled. She noticed something in his voice, almost like he was hurt. There was an almost imperceptible pause before he added, "but what about Aurora?" Maleficent, still watching the girl in question, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly at that; pain slithered its way through her chest. "That boy could be her only chance. It's her fate, anyway."

Tiring of his futile trail of thinking, Maleficent raised one hand towards him.

"Go ahead," he said, staying her hand. "Turn me into anything you want: a bird, a worm. I don't care anymore." And he walked away, leaving Maleficent staring after him with a heavy feeling in her chest, and the uncomfortable sense that there had been some, more personal, subtext to his words...


	33. Chapter 32 - Evil

Chapter 32

A/N: sorry for the chapter repeat! I think they're all where they should be now

Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

A few hours later, Maleficent sat just within the moors, at the spot where Aurora always gained access, lost in thought. Her heart was heavy and her chest tight. She wished with all she had that Diaval could be right. That this Phillip could indeed be the answer. But, no. There was no such thing as 'true love'. She had learned that many years ago. Stefan had known it too. She had seen in his face upon adding he condition to her curse. He had understood, as she did, the futility and folly of believing in such things as 'true love's kiss'.

Her thoughts turned to Diaval himself. They had grown closer since spending that tender night together near Aurora's cottage, though they hadn't spoken about it since, nor had they repeated the experience. Diaval has continued to keep his respectful distance, and Maleficient had done the same. Yet, with the softening Aurora had induced in her heart, Maleficent had also felt a softening towards Diaval. A feeling towards him that pulled at her, confused her, frustrated her.

A voice cut through her thoughts. Aurora's voice.

"Fairy Godmother?" She sounded frantic. Maleficent stood and walked through a magically conjured pathway in the wall of thorns and towards the voice. She saw Aurora running through the clearing ahead. "Fairy Godmother!"

"I'm here," Maleficent said softly as she neared the girl.

"When were you going to tell me that I'm cursed?" Aurora asked without preamble.

Maleficent's already heavy heart dropped to her stomach in shock at the girl's unexpected question. She stared at Aurora, unable to speak. Aurora took in a shaking breath. "Is it true?"

Maleficent wished she could deny it. Wished she could say anything other than, "it is." Wished she wasn't he cause of her God-daughter's immediate sniffles and tears of anguish.

"My aunts said it was an evil fairy. I...I can't remember her name. They said it...It was..."

"...Maleficent," Maleficent supplied. Her heart ached at the sound of her own name. The name she had kept from Aurora all these years. The name she had hoped to keep from her forever. Aurora nodded, then gazed into Maleficent's eyes with a such a look in her own eyes that Maleficent longed to turn and just run away. Away from the hurt and betrayal. She knew exactly what was coming.

"Is that you..?" Aurora asked with a shuddering breath, tears filing her eyes once more. "Are you Maleficent?"

Maleficent's heart - the heart she had tried so hard to shut away, the heart Aurora had uncovered, soothed, healed by her very presence in Maleficent's life - shattered. She felt tears forming in her own eyes and willed them not to fall. If only she could deny it. If only she could make everything go away. All the girl's hurt, confusion. The curse. She took a quick step towards Aurora and reached out towards her. Surely there was something she could say, something she could do. A way of explaining.

But Aurora backed away. "No!" She cried out. "Don't touch me. You're the evil that's in the world! It's you!" Sobbing, Aurora turned and stumbled away.

Maleficent watched her go. Thunder rumbled above. She knew exactly where Aurora would go. Knew the princess well enough. She would return to her home. To her father...to Stefan. Maleficent took in a shuddering breath. Only then did a single tear escape her eye and trickle down her face. She scrubbed it away. It was no longer sadness she felt. It was fury. And it was directed entirely at herself.

Abruptly, Maleficent spun on her heel and yelled urgently, savagely, "Find the boy!" She knew Diaval would hear.

She would not let it end like this! Whatever it took, she would save the girl who had brought her back to life.


	34. Chapter 33 - Done

Chapter 33

A/N: Sorry it's short chapter - it kinda says it all though. More twists and turns still to come! Some deviations from the movie on the way very soon.

Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Maleficent could feel the gleeful urgency of the curse building up inside her own body as she willed Diaval to move ever faster on his horse legs. Philip's horse, on which the unconscious boy lolled, kept pace. But still they did not move fast enough. Now, more than ever, she longed for her wings. Longed to speed through the air to the castle. To reach Aurora before the curse could capture her. To carry her away to safety.

"Faster, Diaval! Faster!" she cried, digging her heels into his sides, clinging tightly to his feathery mane. Hoping against all hope that they would get there before then sun set. Before the curse could take hold. She knew, in her heart, they wouldn't make it in time. They couldn't. The curse _would _be fulfilled. It had taken on a life of its own, and it _would_ be satisfied.

And then, just as the castle loomed up out of the dusky darkness just ahead. Just as the the sun set over the horizon. Just as they reached the place where Aurora was...she felt it. The curse. It was as if she had been struck by lightning. All her muscles tensed viciously. Diaval reared up on his hind legs as Maleficent slammed her heels into his ribs and yanked on his mane. Malficent stared in horror and anguish at the castle. So tantalisingly near...yet just too far.

"It is done," she whispered. Her head sank slowly into Diaval's mane. Time seemed to freeze. _It is done. _


	35. Chapter 34 - Trap

Chapter 34

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

The sun dipped fully below the horizon. Darkness reigned...over both the land and Maleficent's heart.

_It is done. _

Still bent over Diaval's neck, she clutched her arms around herself and gasped in shallow, choking breaths.

_It is done._

_No_! Maleficent slid from Diaval's back and released her magic to transform him.

"Bring the boy," she ordered, ignoring Diaval's concerned gaze. _She _had done this; she deserved no sympathy. She deserved the agony she felt at the knowledge that, somewhere in that castle, Aurora lay trapped in a sleep like death. If there was even the slightest chance that Phillip was indeed the answer, she was going to get him to her. Whatever it took to do so!

The castle was dark and deathly still as Maleficent approached, with Diaval leading the floating Philip along behind. Flickering torches illuminated little yet cast haunting, dancing shadows upon the ground and the walls. It was not a welcoming sight.

"They've pulled the guards," Diaval noted worriedly. "He's waiting for you in there. If we go inside those walls, we're never coming out alive."

Maleficent did not care. She didn't care who or what was waiting. Didn't care if she was not going to get out alive. All she cared about was getting Philip to Aurora.

A flicker of hope, tiny and weak, still burned somewhere within her. Hope that Aurora wasn't lost to her forever. She _couldn't_ be. If Maleficent still had her wings, she would have cut them off herself and offered them up willingly if it would return Aurora to her. But all she had to offer was the boy. It _had_ to be enough!

"Then don't come,"' she told Diaval dismissively. Then she strode up the path towards the castle's entrance.

"I need you, Diaval. I can't do this without you, Diaval," muttered the raven-man behind her.

"I can hear you!" she called back. He followed in silence, then.

Stepping into the castle, the first thing Maleficent noted was how quiet and still it was. The second, was the iron. It was everywhere. The windows were barred with it, doors reinforced with it. It adorned the walls, the floor. Her nose wrinkled at the very air, which carried on it the smell of iron. Maleficent shuddered, choosing very carefully where she stepped to avoid touching anything. Stefan had clearly prepared for her arrival.

Just then, approaching footsteps rang out through the silence. Maleficent and Diaval froze and looked at one another. Maleficent raised her hands and shrouded herself in green magic in preparation for an attack.

Then, from a nearby corridor, a boy emerged. He could not have been older than 12 or 13. He was unarmed and was dressed in rags. Maleficent relaxed, but only slightly. Certainly, a single, unarmed boy could do her no harm, but what was he doing there?

The boy stepped towards them, a frightened look on his face. As he neared, Maleficent noted his black eye and cut lip. His red-rimmed eyes and the tear tracks running down his grubby cheeks. He was trembling from head to toe, his hands clenched tightly by his sides. He was clearly terrified. Of her? Or of something else? Maleficent watched warily as he stopped a few feet ahead of her, peering up at her with wide, frightened brown eyes.

Maleficent's heart softened at the sight. She lowered her hands, her magic dissipating. The moment she did so, the boy raised one hand, opened his palm, and blew. Maleficent realised at once her mistake as the iron shavings he had been clutching in his hand struck her directly in her face. She cried out in pain at the sudden burning in her eyes. She stumbled backwards and gasped. That was her second mistake.

The boy quickly blew the the shavings from his other hand and she felt herself inhaling them before she could react. Coughing and choking, Maleficent clawed at her throat as the iron burned its way down and into her lungs. The castle blurred. Her vision became red and cloudy, as though she were trying to see through a mist of blood. She tried to scream. But her lungs burned and tightened and she couldn't take in more than tiny gasps of breath, each one like fire.

"Maleficent!" Diaval's voice sounded as if from a great distance. Maleficent's head grew light, her ears rang and her heart pounded, sending a fresh wave of flames through her chest with every beat.

Suddenly, the thunderous sound of marching footsteps, dozens upon dozens of them, filled the halls. A troop of armoured guards approached.

"Into a bird," Maleficent managed to choke out before pitching forwards. The tiniest trickle of magic escaped her fingers before the world around her went black. The last thing she heard before she succumbed to the darkness, was a frantic cawing, and the flapping of wings.


	36. Chapter 35 - Taken

Chapter 35

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Pain. That was the first thing Maleficent registered. Everything hurt. She was sitting slumped against a wall. Her eyelids tried sluggishly to open but, even when they parted slightly, she could see only darkness tinged with a deep red haze. Was she blind? Or was it simply dark wherever she was? Her throat and chest still burned with every shallow breath she took, but at least she _was _breathing.

Struggling to pull herself to full consciousness, Maleficent registered a searing pain where her body made contact with the ground beneath her, the wall behind her. She reached out a tentative, trembling hand to touch the ground. Then immediately retracted it when she felt the burn of iron on her palm. It was the same with the wall behind her. Panic threatened to overwhelm her as she realised both were pure iron. She was surrounded by the deadly metal! She reached for her magic, but the pain in her body and fog in her brain prevented her from touching it.

Her panic rose. Her breath came in short, gasping bursts. Tears burned in her eyes. She shuddered and trembled violently.

'_Aurora!' the name filled her mind. 'Oh, Aurora. I am so sorry. I have failed you!'_

Suddenly, there came the sound of a key turning in a heavy lock somewhere to her left. Then the sound of a door beginning to creak open. She turned her head towards the sound and felt a tiny burst of relief as a burst of sudden light flooded the room. Not blind, then. That relief was short-lived. The door opened fully...and there stood Stefan. Her vision remained blurry and clouded by a red haze, but she could still recognise his features. Older, thinner, bearded and with shadowed eyes...but still Stefan.

He dropped a sack onto the ground with a clang and set the torch he held into a holder on the wall. Then he shut the door behind him. Though her breath still came in burning gasps and her body still trembled, Maleficent gathered every last vestige of strength within her, pulled herself to her feet and met his gaze impassively. Her body wavered slightly on unsteady legs, but she managed to remain upright.

"Maleficent." Stefan smirked down at her. "You're not looking too good." She said nothing.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he continued with a sneer. He ran his fingers over the wall. "I had this room made especially for you. Wasn't that thoughtful of me? You can't use you magic, can you? How does it feel? To be helpless, trapped, at my mercy?"

Still, Maleficent said nothing. She wasn't sure she had the energy, even had she wanted to speak. Or if her voice would even work properly with all the iron she had inhaled.

"You can still get out of this, you know," Stefan said softly, almost kindly. "You can walk out of here, and return to your precious moors...as soon as you remove your curse on my daughter."

Maleficent's heart sank. Not that she believed his words anyway, but because the thing he asked of her was the one thing she could not do...however much she - or he - wished it were different.

She took a deep breath and simply looked at him for a long moment. Could see his temper rising with every second she failed to respond. Though she desperately wished it didn't, his temper filled her with fear. As he had said, she truly was at his mercy.

"I can't," she eventually said in a rasping whisper, her throat burning as she spoke. She flinched involuntarily when Stefan slammed his fist into the wall beside him.

"Remove the curse!" he bellowed. "Or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"I can't!" Maleficent repeated with more strength in her voice. "Believe me, Stefan, I would if I could...but I can't!"

"You lie!" Stefan took a step forward and backhanded her fiercely. Her head snapped round and she stumbled into the wall, recoiling quickly as her hands burned where they made contact. Feeling blood trickling down her chin from a split lip, Maleficent forced herself to turn back and meet his gaze once more.

"I gave you the chance," he growled, "to do this the easy way. I asked nicely. I offered you your freedom. But you've chosen to do this the hard way. You _will _remove your curse from my daughter, Maleficent. And the quicker you do it, the less it will hurt."

And he walked over to his sack, opened it up, and pulled out a long iron rod. Maleficent took a step backwards and felt the trembling in her body become more pronounced.

"Now," Stefan said, walking slowly towards her with a crazed glint in his eyes and a grim smile on his face. "Let's get started, shall we?"


	37. Chapter 36 - Hidden

Chapter 36

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Diaval sped around the outside of the the castle, searching frantically for any sign of his mistress with his beady black eyes. She had collapsed after turning him back to his natural form, and in attempting not to be seen he had somehow managed to lose the men who carried her away in the twists and turns of the castle.

Hours had passed, and he had flown into every room he could find, crawled into every nook and cranny, and met more mice than he could ever hope to eat. But Diaval had no interest in mice or eating. He only wanted to find Maleficent. If he could only find her, she could change him into something useful and he could get them both out of this damned castle full of iron. Having found no sign of her, he had flown back out of the castle and renewed his search by peering into every window he could find.

Suddenly, he heard a pained scream from above him. Followed by another. And another. _Maleficent! _He flapped frantically towards the sound. In one of the castle's turrets, he spied a tiny window, barred - of course - with iron. It was the source of the sound. His heart jumped painfully in his chest as another scream of agony tore through the night. Ice filled his veins.

Diaval fluttered in to land on the windowsill and peered inside, almost afraid of what he would see. Inside, the room was dimly lit by a single torch mounted on the wall. And in the faint, flickering light, Diaval could see Stefan, his back to the window. He was dragging a rod of iron slowly down Maleficent's cheek. It left a trail of scorched flesh in its wake. Other, similar marks marred her other cheek, her neck, her chest. And they weren't healing the way they should be. Maleficent was obviously weak, injured, and unable to access her magic. Otherwise, Diaval knew, Stefan would be the one suffering!

Knowing he needed to remain unseen, unheard, Diaval could only look on in helpless silence as Stefan pressed the rod against Maleficent's throat and held it there. Another scream was torn from her. Diaval could smell the burning of her flesh as Stefan pressed harder on the rod. Finally, he removed it with a furious grunt. Maleficent sank to her knees and slumped forwards over them, breathing heavily and letting out occasional whimpers of pain. Diaval hopped from one foot to the other, furious at himself for being unable to do anything but watch.

"Say you'll remove the curse, and all this will stop," Stefan growled. Maleficent lifted her head and looked up at him, pain and exhaustion evident in her large, luminous eyes.

"I told you: I can't remove it," she replied hoarsely. "You're wasting your time. Aurora can't be awakened!"

In fury at those words, Stefan struck the side of her head with the iron rod. Maleficent toppled side wards, her eyes rolling back in her head. She crashed to the ground and lay there, silent, unmoving.

As if knocking her unconscious wasn't enough for him, Stefan kicked her forcefully in the ribs.

"Stubborn bitch!" he bellowed, kicking her again before turning on his heel and pulling the door open. "I'll be back for you when you wake up," he promised her prone form coldly. "I have plenty more methods planned to get you to change your mind. Guards!" he called out, and two men in full armour strode into the room. "Watch her," Stefan ordered. "Send for me the moment she wakes up." The guards bowed and Stefan swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The men settled in to watch the unconscious fairy for any sign she was coming round.

With a heavy heart, Diaval did exactly the same...


	38. Chapter 37 - Fear

Chapter 37

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Maleficent awoke groggily to the taste of blood in her mouth. The side of her head throbbed in time with her racing heart and every breath sent agony raging through her ribs. Her hand went immediately to her side and she winced at the tenderness she felt there.

"Well, well, well," an unfamiliar voice penetrated her foggy brain. Her eyes flickered open and she looked up to see two armoured men standing over her. "Look who's woken up." The man who had spoken turned to his companion. "Fetch King Stefan," he ordered. "I'll keep an eye on the _her_."

The door opened and closed again with a clang as the second soldier exited. Maleficent painfully pulled herself into a sitting position, careful to avoid touching anything around her with her bare hands. She felt dizzy and nauseous, and the unwelcome feeling of fear pricked at her at the thought of Stefan's imminent return. Her breath came raggedly, each one radiating pain in her ribs, which she was sure were broken. Stefan must have kicked her while she was unconscious. She closed her eyes, wrapped one arm around ribs and tried to control her breathing.

The soldier watching over her chuckled at her obvious discomfort. Maleficent ignored him. She had noticed something, a tiny movement, out of the corner of her eye, just over the man's shoulder. Lifting her head with some effort, she peered at the tiny window on the opposite wall and her eyes widened. _Diaval_! Maleficent's heart leapt. Then sank again as she remembered: no magic. As a raven, there was nothing Diaval could do to help her. Maleficent closed her eyes and let her pounding head drop forward once more.

She sensed movement and her eyes snapped open as the guard squatted down in front of her. He looked at her with a lascivious glint in his dark eyes and stretched his hand out, stroking his fingers lightly down her arm. She suppressed a shudder and snatched her arm away from his touch. He chuckled again and grabbed hold her her wrist with one hand. The fingers of his other hand trailed a path along her collarbones and down her chest towards the neckline of her dress.

"You really are a beauty," he said gruffly. "Except for those monstrosities on your head, of course."

Before his hand could dip any further, the door creaked open. The guard leapt to his feet and took two giant steps backwards. Maleficent's momentary flash of relief was overtaken by fear as Stefan stepped into the room.

"Out!" He snapped. The guard bowed and walked out of the door, pulling it shut behind him with a loud clang. With great effort, Maleficent pulled herself onto her feet, raised her head, and faced Stefan.

"Nice nap?" Stefan sneered at her.

Maleficent silently met his eyes with a calm defiance completely at odds with the trepidation churning inside her.

"Are you ready to release the curse now, or do you need a little more...persuading?" Stefan asked.

"I cannot. Remove. The curse," Maleficent growled through gritted teeth.

"More persuading it is, then," Stefan pronounced almost cheerfully.

"Do whatever you want to me," Maleficent told him coldly. "It won't change anything. I can't awaken Aurora...Nothing can."

She gasped suddenly as she felt cold iron against her neck. Stefan held a dagger to her throat. Its sharp blade glinted in the pale dawn light angling through the small window. The window where Diaval still perched. She wished, at that moment, that he wasn't there. She didn't want him to watch whatever Stefan was planning to do with that dagger...


	39. Chapter 38 - Violated

Chapter 38

**A/N: ****Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**Trigger warning: this chapter contains scenes of sexual violence, so if that is likely to distress or bother you, skipping this chapter might be an idea - the next one will still make sense without it.**

Stefan slowly drew the dagger downwards. Blood blossomed and dripped as the iron blade sliced through the skin on her neck, her chest. Maleficent was pinned between Stefan and the wall behind her, unable to move. Pain filled her eyes, her teeth and hands were clenched, and she was breathing heavily but she made no sound. The dagger continued its journey down her chest, stopped where it met the neckline of her black dress.

"Hmm. Pain doesn't seem to be doing the job. Perhaps I need to try something...different," Stefan mused. He withdrew the dagger.

Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and flung her across the room. She landed heavily against the wall beneath the window and fell to the ground, gasping in pain. Stefan was beside her in an instant. Her pushed her over onto her back, grabbed both wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand. Maleficent struggled but could not get her hands free of his grip.

"Stop struggling," Stefan told her calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. You might even enjoy this!" He laughed cruelly. His free hand worked its way from her neck downwards in a gentle caress that sent shudders of revulsion running through her. He drew his hand down her chest and feathered his fingers over the swell of her breasts. Maleficent struggled desperately against his grip on her wrists, squirmed against his light touch on her body. But his grip held fast. His hand continued its journey downwards, over her stomach and then down the top of her thigh.

Maleficent's breath came in short, sharp gasps and she trembled in helpless fear and horror at what was happening. Stefan's hand trailed down further and found the hem of her dress. _No! _A tear trickled from the corner of her eye and down the side of her cheek.

Stefan chuckled. He slid his hand under her dress and, pushing on her knees, forced her legs apart. Maleficent closed her eyes. She felt his hand creep between her thighs. Felt herself growing wet at his gentle touch, despite the revulsion she felt. _No! _

"See," Stefan leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I told you you would enjoy this!"

Humiliation and shame washed over her at his words, at her treacherous body's reaction to his touch...and at the sudden realisation that Diaval was still perched on the window ledge...watching. _No! No! No!_

Maleficent's heart thundered in her chest. She couldn't catch her breath. Ice ran through her and her hands tingled. She wanted to vomit.

"Stefan...please!" she whimpered when she felt his fingers run down her wet centre and come to rest at her entrance. Stefan paused.

"Stefan, please...what?" he asked, looking curiously into her eyes with a cold smile. "Please stop...or please keep going?"

"Stop," she whispered. She closed her eyes and felt more tears trickle out. "Please, stop."

To her overwhelming relief, he withdrew his fingers.

"I remember asking you to stop, once," he reminded her coldly. Her eyes snapped open, relief gone, fear blossoming anew.

Stefan reached down to release his stiff shaft from his trousers. "And I remember you ignored that plea!" he growled.

_**No! **_Maleficent renewed her struggling against his grip on her wrists. Writhed and bucked with her body. All to no avail. There was no getting away. No escaping what Stefan was about to do. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and more tears trickled from behind her closed lids. A sob escaped her lips and she turned her head away.

Moving himself over her, Stefan forced her legs further apart...and entered her in one forceful thrust. Maleficent threw her head back and screamed.

And then, from somewhere above her head, she head frantic squawking and the furious flapping of wings.


	40. Chapter 39 - Caught

Chapter 39

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Stefan screamed and covered his face with his hands - finally releasing his vice-like grip on Maleficent's wrists - as Diaval swooped down and clawed at his eyes with razor sharp talons. Stefan threw his body away from Diaval's attack, away from Maleficent, and she scrambled back into the corner of the room. She shook and sobbed, unable to do anything but watch as Diaval hooked his talons onto the front of Stefan's shirt and pecked at his eyes. He swatted frantically at Diaval, but the raven-man swiftly took flight and was immediately out of reach.

"Guards!" Stefan cried out. He quickly rearranged his trousers and backed towards the doors, his blood-filled eyes fixed on the raven. The door swung open and the two armoured men rushed in. "Get the damn bird! Don't let it escape!" Stefan ordered.

The guards hesitated for a split second, taking in Stefan's face, torn up and bloodied, and Diaval, who hovered - still shrieking - in the corner directly above Maleficent. Then, one immediately ran to the window to block Diaval's exit, raising his sword. The other rushed outside and returned quickly with a crossbow. He took aim, and Diaval began to fly haphazardly around the room as bolts flew past him.

"Get out of here!" Maleficent screamed at him. Ignoring the pain and exhaustion in her body, Maleficent launched herself at the guard blocking the window. Unprepared, the guard staggered sideways and Diaval immediately made for the window. The guard quickly recovered and backhanded Maleficent, sending her tumbling to the ground. From her prone position, through pain-blurred vision, she saw Diaval reach the window, flapping furiously.

Neither of them saw it coming...a bolt from the crossbow. It grazed the edge of Diaval's wing...and sent him spiralling to the ground.

"Diaval!" Maleficent screamed. Stefan shot forwards and grabbed hold of the raven, pinning him to the ground. Diaval squawked and wriggled, but Stefan tightened his grip. "No!" Maleficent cried out. More frantic now than ever, she rushed towards Stefan, only to be pulled back by the guards. They held her in place, facing Stefan. Still pinning Diaval against the smooth iron floor with one hand, Stefan reached out for the dagger he had used earlier. He raised it above Diaval, and looked up at Maleficent with a cruel smirk.


	41. Chapter 40 - Caged

Chapter 40

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing! Keep em coming ;-)**

**Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Maleficent's heart stopped. _Diaval! No! _She couldn't endure the sight of him at Stefan's mercy. Couldn't bear the thought of watching him die. Couldn't fathom a world without him in it. She struggled furiously against the hands holding her, but she couldn't tear herself free. In desperation, she cried out the only thing she knew would stay Stefan's hand:

"I'll remove the curse!"

Stefan froze. Then, slowly, he lowered he dagger and looked at her.

"Don't hurt him," she begged. "I'll remove the curse from Aurora. I'll do whatever you want. Just let him go...please!"

"Oh, I don't think I'll be doing that," Stefan responded coldly. "Not yet anyway. Not until the curse is removed. Cage him!" he snapped at his guards. They shoved Maleficent to the ground. One of them grabbed hold of Diaval and carried him towards the door. Maleficent met his beady black eyes and he cawed weakly at her. She nodded at him with a quirk of her lips, assuring him with her eyes that everything was going to be alright.

But she knew it wasn't. She couldn't remove the curse. And as soon as Stefan realised that...Diaval would be killed.

"Well, well, well," Stefan chuckled, taking a step towards Maleficent. She shuffled backwards and felt the cold iron of the wall against her back. Her dress offered just enough protection between it and her bare skin. She still shook uncontrollably, pain ran through her from - it seemed - every part of her body, and she longed to simply curl into a ball and weep, but she schooled her face to stillness as she met Stefan's eyes. "The great and powerful Maleficent...in love with a _bird. _I presume, after me, no man was enough for you."

Maleficent stiffened, but she remained silent. She was not prepared to enter into a conversation with _Stefan, _of all people, about her feelings towards Diaval. Her silence only made Stefan chuckle once more.

"Alright," he snapped suddenly, "enough talking - remove the curse, or you'll find yourself short one raven."

"Prove he's still alive, and I'll remove the curse," Maleficent countered.

Stefan pressed his lips together, then nodded, "Very well," he agreed and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Only then did Maleficent allow herself to succumb, at least for a moment, to the pain, exhaustion and shock coursing through her heart, body and mind. She pulled her knees up to her chest with a wince and rested her forehead on them. Biting back tears, she took a deep breath, and felt the stabbing protest of her cracked ribs. Her head was fuzzy and light, and throbbed with every beat of her heart, and her vision was blurred. Her wrists ached and, looking at them, she could see vivid, finger-shaped bruises already forming. She shuddered at the thought of what Diaval had interrupted with his attack.

'_Oh, Diaval_,' she though with an aching heart. '_Why did you do that?' _She could have coped, somehow, with anything Stefan did to her. In fact, she felt it a fair exchange for what she had done to Aurora. But she could not cope with anything happening to Diaval. He was pure, and sweet, and innocent. And now... A tear did slip from her eye then. '_Look at what you have done!' _she screamed internally.

Knowing she was of no use to anyone in that state, Maleficent forced herself to calm down, to breathe, and to think. It was then that she noticed Stefan had left his dagger behind... She reached out and grabbed it quickly, tucking it into her boot. Just in time...

Maleficent's head shot up - sending shooting pain through her - when the door creaked open. Stefan stepped in, carrying a large cage in which Diaval fluttered and cawed angrily. He stopped when he saw her, growing still and silent. His beady eyes were unreadable, so unlike in his human form. Did her blame her? Was he angry? ...Was he frightened? Her heart broke for him.

Stefan set the cage down behind him. "Now...let's get on with this! The curse, Maleficent. Remove it...now!"


	42. Chapter 41 - Release

Chapter 41

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Maleficent surprised them both, then, by letting out a burst of laughter.

"Now?" she repeated, pulling herself to her feet, her limbs crying out in pained protest. "From _here_?" She laughed again. "Stefan, do you really think if I were capable of using my magic in this _special _room you are oh so very proud of, that I wouldn't have used it on you the moment you set foot inside? If you want me to remove the curse...you need to let me out of here first."

Her brain worked frantically as Stefan paused for a moment to consider what she had said. She left him to it - he had never been all that bright, so she knew it might take him a while to catch on.

If she could somehow get out of this room, she could gain access to her magic. And with access to her magic, there had to be some way of escaping, with Diaval _and _Aurora. Even if her self-proclaimed God-daughter remained sleeping until the end of time, Maleficent wanted to be near her. Couldn't stand the thought of leaving her behind with her monster of a father.

"Fine," the monster in question said finally. He raised a finger. "But try _anything..._and your precious bird will suffer."

Maleficent nodded her agreement, flicking her eyes to the caged Diaval and then back to Stefan. Diaval cawed urgently at her, hopped up and down and shook his head frantically. She knew exactly what he was trying to say. He wanted her to save herself. To abandon him to his fate. She gave him a quick, almost imperceptible shake of her head in return. '_Never,' _her luminous green eyes spoke fiercely.

Stefan ignored their exchange. He called out for his guards and they promptly entered.

"I would like you to escort our guest to the princess's room," he instructed them. There was a moment's hesitation, in which the guards glanced at each other, eyed Maleficent, then met each other's eyes again. "Now!" Stefan yelled.

The guards rushed towards Maleficent then. They roughly grabbed an arm each, hauling her out of the door...away from the iron prison. The relief was immediate and intense. She felt the tingle of magic run through her body, and the pain lessened as her wounds began to heal. She longed to unleash her magic. To raise hell in the castle, tearing it and its inhabitants apart brick by brick, bone by bone. But Stefan followed behind with Diaval in his cage. She would not risk his safety. Besides, she was being taken exactly where she wanted to go...to Aurora.


	43. Chapter 42 - Threats

Chapter 42

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Maleficent lost track of the twists, turns and stair cases as she was half-led half-dragged through the castle. It wasn't long before the guards yanked her to a halt in front of a closed door. Stefan passed Diaval's cage to one of the men and stepped towards the door. Maleficent felt her heart leap at what she would see on the other side. The very thought of Aurora's lifeless form made her breath catch and tears prickled behind her eyes.

Stefan looked at her, his hand on the doorknob. "Remember what I told you," he said grimly. "Try anything, and it will be goodbye birdie." Without turning to face him - her eyes still fixed in trepidation upon the door and her mind still fixed on what she would find within - Maleficent nodded. At that, Stefan twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door.

Inside, there was a bed. And on the bed, lay Aurora. Maleficent bit the inside of her cheek hard to control the cry that threatened to escape from her throat at the sight of the young girl, trapped in the curse's impenetrable grip. She looked to be sleeping peacefully. But there was to be no awakening from that sleep. Not now. Not ever. Tears burned Maleficent's eyes and she quickly blinked them away. She couldn't let Stefan see how the sight of his daughter affected her.

Adopting a cold expression and a neutral tone, Maleficent spoke. "I need to be closer to her. And I recommend you stay back."

"Be careful, Maleficent. You've been warned." Stefan retrieved the cage and shook roughly. Diaval tumbled about inside, squawking indignantly.

"Do you want me to do this or not?" Maleficent snapped, making one if he guards yank painfully on her arm at her insolence towards his king. Maleficent ignored that. "I have told you what I need," she said calmly. "The choice is yours."

Stefan hesitated, then nodded at the guards, who released her reluctantly. Maleficent stepped towards Aurora's bed. She crouched down beside Aurora for a second, and drew on her magic, shrouding herself in green mist. Then, before anyone could react, she reached into her boot, withdrew the dagger, and held it to Aurora's throat. She hissed at the pain in her hand from clutching the iron, but her grasp was steady and unwavering.

The guards rushed forwards, swords raised, but stopped on Stefan's command.

"Release Diaval, or I'll cut her throat," Maleficent commanded, her green eyes flashing and her tone brooking no disagreement.


	44. Chapter 43 - Beg

Chapter 43

**A/N: Thank you Visionary-Writer and Startraveler for such quick reviews :-). **

**The last few chapters have been pretty short so I thought I'd post a few more to make up for it.**

**Please review. Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Stefan, his eyes practically popping out of his head in shock and horror, looked from Maleficent's deadpan expression, to the dagger clutched tightly in her hand, and down to the cage holding a loudly cawing Diaval. Immediately, he opened it. Diaval flapped his way out and flew over the perch on the bed, close to Maleficent. She reached out with her free hand and stroked his feathers gently. He cawed at her, his eyes saying everything that needed to be said.

"Maleficent," Stefan began pleading, "please..."

"Please what, Stefan?" Maleficent echoed his earlier words to her, raising an eyebrow at him. She made as if to press the dagger closer to Aurora's pale throat. Stefan swallowed heavily and raised his hands, palms out towards her.

"Please don't murder my daughter," he begged.

"Here is what's going to happen," Maleficent stated calmly. "Diaval is going to walk you and your guards back to the dungeon, where he will lock you in that room of iron you love so much. If he does not return - safe and unharmed - in ten minutes, I kill the princess. Is that understood?" Stefan nodded dumbly.

"Into a man." Diaval transformed, and the guards - who had clearly never witnessed magic before - gasped and stepped backwards towards the door

"Take them," Maleficent instructed Diaval. "And, Diaval -" she glanced meaningfully at Stefan "- hurry back."

She watched them leave, waiting until the door closed and the footsteps faded. Then, she withdrew the dagger and quickly dropped it onto the ground, cradling her burnt hand to her chest. The pain soon subsided. Maleficent took in quick, deep breaths, finding herself shaking as the adrenaline of the moment began to wear off.

For the first time, she looked properly at Aurora...and felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. '_This is the price of your selfish need for vengeance! Look..! Look at what you have done!' _Memories flashed unbidden through her mind: Aurora giggling at her from her crib on her first visit to the cottage; Aurora's chubby little arms around her legs in the forest; her expression of wonder and awe on her first visit to the moors; and her joyful excitement at her plans to live with Maleficient in her homeland.

"_...we can look after each other..."_

Maleficent closed her eyes as a pain beyond any she had experienced before washed over her. Her knees buckled and she leaned on the bed for support. Just then, the door opened slowly. She looked up quickly, preparing to strike whoever entered with her magic.

It was Diaval. She sighed in relief. He closed the door behind him and, on seeing his mistress's expression, merely nodded that the job was done. He then maintain a respectful distance, standing in silence, watching.


	45. Chapter 44 - Awakenings

Chapter 44

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Maleficent cast her green eyes back over Aurora's sleeping face, then dropped her gaze to the floor.

"I will not ask your forgiveness," she said in a near-whisper. "Because what I have done to you is unforgivable. ...I was so lost in hatred, and revenge."

Looking at Aurora then, her large green eyes seemed to glow, glistening with unshed tears.

"Sweet Aurora." Her voice cracked. "You stole what was left of my heart...and now, I've lost you forever." A single tear escaped and trickled slowly down Maleficent's cheek.

She took in a shuddering breath. "I swear, no harm will come to you as long as I live. And not a day shall pass...that I don't miss your smile."

Another tear spilled down her cheek as she leaned in towards Aurora, and kissed her softly on her forehead. The she sighed heavily and turned away, unable to bear the pain of seeing what her curse had done to the sweet, innocent child lying lifelessly on her bed.

"Hello, Godmother," sounded a familiar voice from behind her. Maleficent's tear-filled eyes widened. Thinking she had perhaps imagined it, she turned slowly, slowly, towards the sound.

Aurora lay, eyes open, gazing up at her. Maleficent's heart fluttered strongly in her chest as it began to reform and throb in almost painful joy and relief.

"Hello, beastie," she whispered through her tears. The princess smiled her beautiful smile, and Maleficent let out a gasp of happiness, her tears falling freely. This time, though, they were tears of joy.

Diaval murmured from across the room, "no truer love." Her heart feeling full to bursting, Maleficent took Aurora's hand in hers. And for a long while, they just looked at each other - reunited, and revelling in the moment.

"Mistress," Diaval's worried voice broke the silence far too soon for Maleficent's liking. Both she and Aurora looked over at him. Aurora broke into another broad smile at the sight of the raven-man.

"Mistress, we should go. It won't take too long before someone finds Stefan and those guards and releases them."

Maleficent nodded and moved around the bed.

Aurora's face crinkled. "My father?" she asked. "What do you mean 'releases them'?" For the first time, she seemed to really look at Maleficent and a concerned frown formed on her face. "God-mother! You're hurt!" she exclaimed, taking in the drying blood marring Maleficent's porcelain skin, the bruises, the burns, and the way she moved gingerly from the pain still radiating though her body. Yes, her magic was helping her heal, but that process was neither instantaneous nor painless.

"It's nothing," she brushed off Aurora's concern.

Aurora's frown only deepened. "It doesn't look like nothing,"' she countered, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Did my father..."

Maleficent placed a quieting hand on the girl's arm. She did not want to go into what had happened, what Stefan had done. What was she supposed to say? 'Yes, your father tortured me in horrific and humiliating ways'?

"It's nothing, Aurora," Maleficent repeated, not unkindly but firmly enough that Aurora pressed her lips together. She gave an unconvinced nod, her eyes still full of concern and sympathy.

"Come on," Maleficient took Aurora's hand and helped her up onto her feet, checking that she was steady enough to walk after her curse-induced sleep. "Diaval's right: we need to leave...now."

"Follow me," said Diaval, "I know the way."

He opened the door, checked quickly that the coast was clear, then led them out into the silent corridor.

"Wait," called Maleficent. "Into a bird,"

she said with a wave of her fingers. A second later, Diaval took to the air, cawing and cocking his head at her questioningly. "You're safer in that form," she explained. She couldn't bear the thought of him being in danger again. She had thought she was about to lose him once already that night; she would not risk that again!

Flickering torchlight from sconces on the walls illuminated the way as they hurried through the hallways, down a flight of stairs and towards the main hall. They were almost free. Stepping into the hall, Maleficent gestured for Aurora to follow. It was empty. Quiet. Almost too quiet. Then, she heard a metallic rattling sound from above. Before Maleficent could react, a net of iron landed on her and knocked her off her feet. She cried out in pain and shock as she felt her hands and face burning where the metal touched her.

"Godmother!" Aurora cried out. She rushed towards the net and began tugging at it. But before she could lift it away from Maleficent, the hall filled with the sound of marching footsteps and was immediately flooded with armed soldiers. One grabbed Aurora and hauled her backwards, away from the net, away from Maleficent. The rest raised long staffs tipped with iron and rushed towards the fairy. Pain erupted as she was prodded repeatedly from all sides; iron burned where it touched, her vision blurred, her brain became fuzzy and a wave of nausea washed over her.

'_No!' _Maleficent screamed internally. _Not again...not now!' _


	46. Chapter 45 - Dragon

Chapter 45

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Maleficent saw Diaval across the room, her vision blurred as if looking at him through water. He launched himself at the men holding Aurora, clawing and pecking at their faces.

"Aurora, run!" Maleficent yelled as the guard holding her released his grip to shield his face from the raven's frenzied attack. The girl only hesitated for a moment before turning and rushing away. Maleficent breathed a sigh of relief that she was out of harm's way.

With the last of her strength - and feeling her magic fade more from her grasp the longer she spent trapped beneath the iron net, being stabbed at by iron staffs - Maleficent flicked her wrist in Diaval's direction. "Into a dragon," she managed to choke out. The men around him began back away as he slowly transformed before their eyes.

Maleficent let her head drop then and stopped fighting against the net. She was exhausted, in pain, and frightened. More than that, she was unsure just how much more abuse her body could actually take. Another wave of nausea washed over her and she fought to remain conscious, though part of her longed for the sweet relief passing out would bring her. No. She had to keep fighting. Not for herself, but for Aurora. For Diaval. They _would _return to the moors together, and live happily ever after...somehow.

Diaval fought with tooth, claw and fire against the men attacking Maleficent. They staggered backwards against the flames, which gave him he opportunity to lift the net and toss it to one side. Free once more, Maleficent staggered to her feet, wavering as another wave of dizziness and nausea struck her.

Rallying, the soldiers began slinging chains at Diaval. He roared and swiped at them with his massive claws, catching some and flinging them across the room to land in bloodied, groaning heaps of torn flesh and broken bones. But more men remained, and the chains wrapped around his head, snout and neck. Maleficent was too exhausted to do anything but watch helplessly as Diaval's head was hauled down towards the ground. Mercifully, his armoured hide was near-impenetrable by any blade so he was protected...but disabled.

So intent was she on watching Diaval, Maleficent had failed to notice - until it was too late - a circle of guards form around her. Their long shields formed a wall and everywhere she turned she was met with cold iron. Diaval roared through the chains holding his snout and struggled to pull himself free, but the attempt was futile. He could not escape any more than she could.

Suddenly, an opening appeared in the iron wall of shields. ...And Stefan stepped into the circle. He was fully armoured, his eyes glinting through the visor of his helmet with a kind of sadistic mania that made Maleficent's blood freeze and her heart pound. She knew that, very soon, she was going to die. She longed to see Aurora one last time before that happened. To speak to her. To tell her she was sorry...sorry she wouldn't be there for her the way they had planned. Sorry they wouldn't live in the moors together. And sorry that happy ever afters...did not exist.


	47. Chapter 46 - Defeated

Chapter 46

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Stefan flicked his wrist, and a chain whip unravelled from his hand. Iron...of course. Everything in the damned castle was made of iron! He raised the whip and sent it lashing out towards Maleficent. Her body was incapable of moving quickly enough to avoid it. Pain erupted in her already injured ribs as it struck her, knocking her sideways and onto the ground.

Her body rolled and came to a rest only when it collided with one of the shields on the opposite side of the circle. She grunted and struggled to her hands and knees. But her trembling arms gave way beneath her. Stefan retracted the whip and stalked towards her.

"Get up," he ordered in a voice like steel; cold and hard. But Maleficent's muscles refused to respond to her commands. She just managed to pull herself upright on her knees. Her upper body swayed. Her legs trembled beneath her. Her breath came raggedly, each one sending shooting pain radiating through her newly-damaged ribs. Stefan reached down and wrapped the iron whip tightly around her upper body, pinning her arms. She gasped, and her face crumpled in pain. She heard another muffled roar from Diaval and the sound of chains rattling as he struggled to break free.

"You think you can curse my daughter, and then steal her away from me?" Stefan yelled at Maleficent. "You think you can trick me, lock me up, humiliate me in front of my soldiers...and then walk out of my castle with my child?" He released the whip and slammed the sole of his boot into her stomach.

Maleficent tumbled onto her back and curled into a ball, clutching her stomach, coughing and gagging. She spat out a mouthful of blood. Heard Stefan's cruel laughter and Diaval's frantic roars as if from a great distance. She closed her eyes...and heard Stefan's clanging footsteps approach. Felt his gauntleted hand close around her neck, burning the flesh there. He hauled her upright.

Maleficent could feel her body going into shock. She shook uncontrollably and her breath came in short, irregular gasps. Her ears rang and the world swam before her eyes when she forced them open. Stefan's face hovered in front of her. His eyes glinted maliciously and his lips quirked into a humourless smile.

Then, he tossed her aside like a rag doll. She landed on the steps leading up to his throne. "How does it feel," he asked, smirking at her from across the room, "to be a fairy creature, without her wings...in a world where you _don't belong_?" His voice rose to a shout.

'_Aurora. Diaval. I'm sorry! I have failed you.'_

With nothing left in her to fight with, Maleficent dropped her forehead onto the cool ground beneath her and closed her eyes, longing for it to just be over.


	48. Chapter 47 - Wings

Chapter 47

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Aurora ran through the castle, hating herself for leaving Maleficent and Diaval to face her father's soldiers alone but knowing there was little she could do to help. She had obeyed her Godmother's command reluctantly, knowing she would only act as a distraction.

Her forehead creased as she heard a strange sound cutting the silence of the empty part of the castle she had arrived in. She slowed to a walk and listened. She heard it again. It was a dull thudding and fluttering, like a set of large...wings? Aurora's eyes widened as the thought struck her. That was exactly what it sounded like...Wings. Following the sound, she hurried towards a door to her left; the source of the noise. Pushing it open, she found herself in a small room with a single chair facing a cabinet covered with a grimy sheet. Hoping against hope that she was right, Aurora stepped quickly towards the cabinet and pushed back the sheet.

There encased in glass and iron, hung a pair of wings. They were taller than Aurora, black and beautiful. She knew, instantly, that she had been correct. Maleficent's wings...her father had kept them all these years! Aurora felt tears prickling in her eyes at that realisation.

Aurora tried to open the cabinet but found it locked. There was no key. Suddenly, the wings flapped wildly, thrashing against the glass. Aurora jumped backwards. 'They're still alive!' she thought in awe. 'If only I can get them out...perhaps they can somehow be...reattached?'

Stepping up behind the cabinet, Aurora pushed with all her might. It gave, a little. Gritting her teeth, Aurora pushed again and began rocking the cabinet back and forth on its raised stand. "Come on!" she cried out in frustration.

Finally, the cabinet overbalanced. It tumbled forwards...and smashed. For a moment, nothing happened. The wings lay where they had fallen, the room was silent and still. Then, with a flurry of smooth, shining black feathers, the wings flapped their way free from the broken glass and soared out of the door. Aurora ran after them, trying to keep up. She knew exactly where they were heading: back to where they belonged...back to Maleficent.

Aurora prayed they weren't too late.


	49. Chapter 48 - Realisations

Chapter 48

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

The ringing of a sword being drawn rang through the room. Maleficent forced her eyes open, forced her head up. Stefan stood, about 10 paces away, his sword in his hand, watching her.

'_Get up,' _she ordered herself. She refused to die like this, lying helplessly on the ground before him. Her death was imminent, and inevitable. She knew that. How she faced it, however, was up to her. Her body railed against her orders, already pushed so far past the limits of its ability to cope.

'_Get up!' _

She managed to uncurl and roll into her hands and knees, gasping with the effort that cost her.

'_Get. __**Up**__!'_

Memories of the years she had spent with Aurora and Diaval flashed through her mind once again. She drew strength from those memories. Drew strength from the knowledge that Aurora was awake, free from the curse. She wanted to make her God-daughter proud. And if stories were ever told of this moment, Maleficent wanted them to state that she had faced death with bravery and grace...not by cowering upon the floor.

And finally, then, Maleficent's body responded. She pushed herself up onto her feet, her arms out to help her balance as dizziness washed over her anew. She lifted her chin and faced Stefan with all the defiance and hatred she could muster. Saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise. Heard Diaval's wail as Stefan raised his sword. Her eyes flickered to him and met his large, green dragon eyes. Her heart longed to find the magic to transform him back into his natural form before she died. To set him free. Wished she had told him, just once, how she felt. That she cared for him, needed him...

..._loved him._

For she did, however she had tried to deny it, hide it, fight it. Maleficent loved him. She choked back a sob. '_I'm sorry,' _her eyes spoke to him. Even as a dragon, she could see her own emotion reflected in his eyes. He howled in anguish.

Stefan took that howl as his cue. He stepped quickly towards Maleficent, pulled back his sword in preparation to run her through. Maleficent closed her eyes, and braced herself...

But instead of feeling the expected pain of a sword being thrust through her chest, she felt something completely different. Completely unexpected. A sudden force at her back. An intense heat and pressure.

Her eyes popped open and she threw back her head at the sensation.

Golden magic surrounded her. A familiar weight settled over her back. A familiar shadow hung over her shoulder. A familiar soft rustle pricked at her ears...

Her wings - _her wings_! - spread out behind her. Stefan dropped his sword in shock and horror, taking two quick steps back away from Maleficent.

As if taking on a life of their own, the wings spread and lifted her into the air. They imbued her with strength, vitality...magic. Running footsteps sounded on the balcony to her right. Turning, she saw Aurora staring at her in wonder. Meeting the fairy's eyes, Aurora's face broke into a relieved smile.

Maleficent felt a smile spread across her own face in response. Her heart, for the second time that day, felt full to bursting. She had gone from the lowest point of her life, to the most incredible high, in a flash. And she felt, for the first time in 17 years, fully complete. Fully whole. _Fully alive_.


	50. Chapter 49 - Battle

Chapter 49

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

After taking a moment to revel in the strength of her wings, in the sensation of flying once again, Maleficent turned her attention to the scene below. Stefan recovered quickly. He retrieved his sword and bellowed for his soldiers to shoot Maleficent down. The soldiers immediately raised their bows. Maleficent shot off through the air, blocking with her arms the arrows that managed to find their target as she dodged and darted.

She swooped down towards the men holding Diaval's chains and swept them from their feet. They soared through the air, collided with the wall and fell, unmoving, onto the ground below. Diaval roared and reared up as the chains that had imprisoned him fell to the ground with a loud clatter. He released a burst of fire from his mouth and the nearest soldiers turned and ran, dropping their weapons in their desperation to escape the flames. Maleficent smiled again. She continued to fly in wide circles around the room, avoiding the majority of the arrows Stefan's men aimed at her. She was too much of a moving target. She couldn't help herself...she laughed in pure joy.

"Kill her!" Stefan bellowed furiously.

His yell caught Diaval's attention. His eyes filling with fury, the dragon leapt towards the desperate king, whose attention was so focused on Maleficent, he failed to notice the danger approaching from behind. Failed to notice, that is, until Diaval roared just behind him. Then, Stefan turned, very slowly, to face the dragon. Diaval swiped at him with his claws, knocking him sideways and opening deep wounds in his side. Blood flowed onto the ground where he lay. Diaval stepped up and stood over the writhing king. He pinned him to the ground with a single claw at his throat, a bead of blood blossoming where the sharp tip pierced the skin there. It looked very much like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it. Diaval roared again, releasing his fury at everything Stefan had done to Maleficent.

Maleficent herself eyed the two of them from above. She took in the expression in Diaval's eyes. Understood what was going through his mind. He had seen Stefan torture her, seen him... She shook her head, not wanting to think about that just at that moment. Or ever again. Diaval had been powerless, then, to save her. Now, he had all the power he needed. But now, she did not need saving. And she did not want Diaval to kill Stefan. If the king were to die, it would be by her hand, and her hand alone.

"Diaval, no!" she shouted. He looked up at her in surprise. It was all Stefan needed to roll out from beneath the dragon and flick out his chain whip. Launching the end towards Maleficent, her caught her leg. The whip wrapped itself around her ankle and for a moment she was knocked off balance in the air. Flapping with more strength, she flew swiftly away from Diaval and began to circle the room once more. Stefan, holding the other end of the chain, was pulled from his feet and found himself dragged along behind her, the chain caught around his wrist.

Maleficent's flight was slower now with the added weight of Stefan and his armour. More arrows were finding their mark and she struggled to keep up with batting them away. As she continued to fly around the room, Maleficent focused on the chains holding the iron grates across the windows. She flew at them, dislodging them with the strength of her wings. Having dispatched those, she pulled herself into a tight spin, raised her arms for protection, and flew straight at the uncovered window. It smashed as she ploughed through it...with Stefan still dragging along behind her. The whip jerked at her ankle as Stefan clung on.

Maleficent flew up over the nearest turret and deposited Stefan heavily on to the balcony there before landing smoothly. She quickly untangled the chain from her ankle as Stefan leapt to his feet. Blood still streamed from the deep cuts Diaval had created down his side, and he was breathing heavily.

"I should have just killed you that night when I had the chance!" he snarled at Maleficent. She almost agreed with him on that. His actions all those years ago had caused so much pain and grief to so many. But then, she would never have met Aurora. The girl would have been raised by her monster of a father, who would probably have still descended into the madness he now displayed. Maleficent would not wish _that_ on anyone, especially Aurora, who deserved love and safety and to be surrounded by beauty and nature.

"Then why didn't you?" she asked calmly. _She_ was in control now. The tables had well and truly turned.

"Because I loved you!" he shouted, then looked shocked at what he had said, as if the words had been drawn from him against his will. Maleficent let out a snort of derision.

"Really?" she responded with a humourless laugh. "Do you drug and mutilate everyone you love?"

"I'm...I'm sorry," he murmured, raising his hands, palms out towards her as he took a hesitant step forwards.

"It's not going to work, Stefan," she told him coldly. "You're not sorry; you're scared."

It was Stefan's turn to give a derisive snort then, though the way he licked his lips and the size of his eyes belied his bravado.

"It's over, Stefan," she told him in that same, cold tone. "You're done. I am taking Aurora with me to the moors. It's where she wants to be. And if you truly love _her_, you'll leave her alone to live out her life there in peace."

"_No_!" Stefan bellowed in agonised fury at those words. He rushed at Maleficent so quickly that she was caught off guard, raising a knife she hadn't realised he had. Stabbing it directly into her exposed chest...


	51. Chapter 50 - Savioir

Chapter 50

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Just as she felt the tip of the knife penetrate her chest, Maleficent heard a desperate scream. Something small and blonde barrelled into Stefan. _Aurora! _The knife clattered to the floor as the two of them flew sideways...and tumbled over the wall.

"_Aurora_!" Maleficent screamed. She launched herself into the air as fast as her wings could carry her and fell into a dive down the turret. She could see both Aurora and Stefan plummeting beneath her, flailing in terrified desperation, though there was nothing to grab hold of, nothing to halt their fall. And the ground grew closer and closer.

Maleficent willed herself to move faster, willed her wings to get her to her God-daughter in time. She couldn't lose her. Not like this. Not now! Aurora screamed out her name. Maleficent stretched out her hands and folded her wings back behind her, cutting through the air.

She grabbed hold of Aurora mere meters from the ground. Then she quickly flapped her wings to catch herself before smashing them both headfirst into the ground, and landed heavily. Both she and Aurora rolled. But Stefan's body smashed into the stone floor. And he lay still and silent, blood pooling beneath his head, his eyes wide and staring, though seeing nothing.

Maleficent cradled Aurora in her arms, shielding her face from the sight of her father, dead and broken on the cold, stone ground. His blood was illuminated by the full moon high overhead, appearing almost silver in the pale light.

As they sat, catching their breath, Aurora's arms clung tightly around Maleficent's waist. She trembled violently. But she was alive. And Stefan was dead. Maleficent let out a deep sigh of relief. '_It is over.'_

Some minutes later, a window above them smashed and a shower of rocks tumbled down from the surrounding wall_. _Diaval emerged, flapping his enormous wings. He soared down towards them and came in to land.

"Into a man," Maleficent commanded. He transformed just as his feet touched he ground and his momentum caused him to stumble forwards. He landed flat on his face.

Despite everything, despite themselves, Maleficent and Aurora looked at one another...and burst into peels of laughter. Diaval pulled himself to his feet, brushed himself off and broke into a grin of his own upon seeing them both safe, intact and happy. Their laughter held a hint of hysteria, and it continued for quite a while before they managed to calm themselves. Diaval reached out a hand to each of them and helped them to their feet. Maleficent felt her adrenaline draining away. She felt, once more, the pain in her body from wounds her magic had not yet managed to heal. Her knees buckled and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Finally, she felt, it was safe to succumb to the exhaustion, the pain. She felt Diaval catch her around the waist with his strong arms. Heard his soft voice as she passed into unconsciousness.

"Sleep, mistress," he murmured into her ear. "It is all over."


	52. Chapter 51 - Home

Chapter 51

**A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter to get from where the last chapter left off to back in the moors. Sorry in advance!**

**Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

The first thing Maleficent noticed when she awoke was softness beneath her. For a moment she lay, eyes closed, disorientated. Why was the ground so soft? And warm? The next thing she noticed was a distinct lack of pain in her body. She still ached in places, but it was nothing like it had been before. How long had she been asleep? And where was she? Suddenly, memories flooded into her brain. _Stefan! _

She sat up quickly, eyes snapping open and staring wildly around, looking for him. Her muscles tensed in preparation for whatever he had in store for her next, her heart pounded in her chest and her breath turned into gasps. She felt a hand on her arm and lashed out towards its owner, making contact with something hard and warm.

"No!" she cried out.

"Mistress," to her surprise, Diaval's face appeared before her, his hand rubbing his cheek where she had struck him. "Mistress, it's alright. You're safe."

For a moment, Maleficent simply stared at him in confusion. Then more memories returned. Stefan and Aurora, tumbling to the ground before her eyes. Stefan's mangled corpse. Aurora's sweet face, tear-streaked but happy. Maleficent sank back onto what she now realised were pillows and closed her eyes again with a deep sigh. Her long brown hair, loose for once, fell around her shoulders. She assumed they had unwrapped her horns to treat the wound on her head from Stefan's iron rod.

"How long have I been sleeping? And where am I?" she asked without opening her eyes.

Aurora's voice answered from the opposite side of the bed. "Four days. And you're still in my father's castle. We did consider taking you back to the moors while you slept, but we couldn't figure out how to transport you comfortably."

Maleficent opened her eyes then and turned to face her 'God-daughter'. Aurora's face broke into a sweet smile the moment her wide blue eyes met Maleficent's vivid green ones. Maleficent gave her a small smile of her own. She was not pleased to hear she was still in the castle. It wasn't safe. The place was crawling with Stefan's soldiers, advisors, servants, spies!

As if reading her mind, Aurora reached out to put a reassuring hand on Maleficent's arm. "It's safe, I promise," she said earnestly. "Apparently, as Stefan's only child, I'm sort of important around here." She looked hugely uncomfortable at that admission. "People have been falling over themselves to accommodate us!"

"Oh," was all Maleficent said. She didn't know exactly how she felt about that. She remembered all to well just how 'accommodating' they had been to her just days earlier.

Sitting up again, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood slightly gingerly, half expecting her legs to give way. As she did so, she felt her wings spread behind her. _Her wings_! She reached back and ran and ran her fingers along the soft feathers in awe and joy. She felt strong. Stronger than she had since the day Stefan had taken them from her. A smile of wonder spread across her face and she felt tears of pure happiness prickling in her eyes.

"Mistress, are you alright?" Diaval asked. She turned, still smiling, her luminous eyes glistening with unshed tears. She nodded.

"I'm just...wondering if this is all a dream," she explained. "Part of me feels like I'm still lying on the ground in Stefan's dungeon..."

Diaval stepped around the bed and looked into her eyes, a serious expression on his face.

"You're not dreaming," he assured her. "...Do you want me to pinch you?"

Maleficent laughed at that. "I would not recommend it," she replied, arching her eyebrow warningly. Diaval smirked in response.

"Safe or not...I need to get out of this castle," Maleficent's tone became more serious. She couldn't stand to be in that place for a moment longer. It held too many memories. Memories of things she would rather forget. A quick shiver ran down her spine as fragments of those memories flashed through her mind. She pushed them out with some effort.

Aurora nodded quickly. "We were only waiting here for you to recover. If you're strong enough, we can leave...well, now! We just need to find horses and we can go home, back to the moors." It warmed Maleficent's heart to hear Aurora speak of the moors as home.

"We don't need horses," Maleficent said, spreading her wings. "...Do you trust me?" she asked Aurora.

"With my life," the girl answered gravely. And Maleficent stepped towards the windows, pushing them wide open. Stepping up onto the window ledge, she felt the warm spring breeze ruffle her wing feathers and her hair. She turned and regarded Aurora, then reached out her hand. Aurora, without hesitation, stepped up beside her.

"Hold on tightly," Maleficent instructed. Aurora did as she was told. "Into a bird," Maleficent commanded Diaval. Then she wrapped her arms around Aurora, launched herself out of the window and flew towards home, with Diaval flapping along beside her...


	53. Chapter 52 - Offering

Chapter 52

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anythi**ng.

As they soared over the wall of thorns and into the moors, Maleficent released a surge of magic towards the thick, twisted plants that had blocked off the world for 16 years. The wall began to dissipate, the thorny branches withering and shrinking into nothing. Light flooded into the moors from the low-hanging sun, illuminating the lush and beautiful land.

Instead of landing in the ruins, where she and Diaval had grown accustomed to spending their time, Maleficent headed towards the Rowan tree in the heart of the moors. It had been her home for many years, before Stefan had taken her wings. It would be so again now, for her and Aurora.

Some days later, Maleficent, unable to sleep - something she was growing accustomed to since returning home - was walking, and thinking. Thinking about Diaval. Her heart hurt to think of how she had treated him over the years. He had deserved none of it. Had been nothing but loyal and caring. Had listened to her when she needed to talk, rant, rave. Had been there to meet her every need. Her face flushed at the memory of how she had used him and rejected him on more than one occasion. Then she smiled at the memory of their time together near Aurora's cottage. At the closeness they had shared since then. At the way he had fought for her, put himself in danger for her, been prepared to _die..._for her!

She loved him. She knew that now. Had loved him for some time, but had been unable - or unwilling - to see it for herself...until she had thought she was about to lose him forever.

As if conjured up by her thoughts, Diaval himself, in his raven form, fluttered to the ground in front of her. He looked at her, cocking his head and cawing. With a short laugh at the demanding raven, Maleficent transformed him into a man.

"Nightmare?" he asked with concern in his dark eyes. She nodded. Every night since their return, she had awoken from nightmares and walked the moors. And every night, he had found her. It had become something of a routine for them.

"Want to talk about it?" he questioned. She shook her head. She never did.

They walked in companionable silence for some time, before Maleficent slowed and turned to him.

"Diaval," she began, her voice soft and serious, "I need to say something, and I need you to just listen. Can you do that?" He raised his eyebrows and his forehead furrowed. But he nodded his assent. Maleficent took his hand and lead him to a nearby tree, whose thick roots rose up from the ground. She sat, and gestured for him to sit down beside her. He did, looking at her with worry evident in his eyes.

"I..." Maleficent hesitated, trying to find he right words. "I want you to leave," she said finally. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock. She held up a hand to stave off any reply he was about to make.

"Just listen," she reminded him. He frowned but closed his mouth. "I am releasing you from your promise to serve me. You deserve to be free, to live your life in your natural form.

"I should have released you a long time ago. It was selfish to make you stay; you almost died because of it. And that...it...it made me realise I have feelings for you that I...I shouldn't have. It's not fair to keep you near me just because _I _want you there. So...I release you, Diaval. Be free." And she lifted her hand to transform him.

Before she could release her magic, Diaval's lips crashed into hers urgently. She felt tears on her cheeks: hers and his. She hasn't realised she had been crying as she spoke. She kissed him back, entwining her fingers in his hair.

He ended the kiss all too soon, pulling back and regarding her with pain evident in his eyes. "Can I speak now?" he asked. Maleficent pressed her lips together before sighing then nodding slowly.

"You think I stay near you out of duty?" he questioned with a frown. "You think I risked my life for you because you saved mine 17 years ago? You think I don't have those same feelings for you that you say you have for me?

"I love you, Maleficent. I love you! Turn me back into a raven if that is what you truly want to do; I still won't leave your side. I am exactly where I want to be. Where I have always wanted to be."

Tears trickled down Maleficent's cheeks. "But...but I've treated you horribly. I used you when it suited my needs, discarded you when that need was satisfied."

Diaval interrupted. "What I do with my life is _my _decision, Maleficent. You were hurting, and I wanted to be there for you, to provide whatever you needed."

"I almost got you killed!" Maleficent cried.

"And then you saved my life...again!" Diaval countered fervently. "Look, if you tell me that what you truly want is for me to leave, I'll obey. You won't see me again. But that doesn't mean I won't be there, every day for the rest of my life...watching over you, out of sight. I won't ever stop loving you." He reached out to cup Maleficent's cheek, brushing away her tears with his thumb.

Maleficent leaned in to his touch and closed her eyes, sniffling slightly.

"I...I want..." she struggled with the words. "I want you here...with me," she whispered. "I...I love you."

Maleficent had no faith in love...or men. But she had faith in Diaval...and he was no man. She knew her feelings for him ran deeper, stronger, than any she had felt for anyone besides Aurora. The feelings she had thought she'd had for Stefan all those years ago paled in comparison.

"But," she felt compelled to add, looking down at the ground, "I am damaged, Diaval. Stefan hurt me in ways I can't even bring myself to remember, except in nightmares when I sleep. I don't want you to be tied to someone who can't give you the kind of love you deserve. I need time to heal...and I cannot tell you how long that will take."

"I'd wait forever if it meant being near you in some way, any way," Diaval told her. "I don't care if it takes a lifetime. I will be with you."

She kissed him then, softly brushing her lips against his. He pulled her body close and wrapped his arms around her. Maleficent rested her head on his shoulder, marvelling at how perfectly their bodies fit together. He kissed her hair gently. Then, hand in hand, the pair turned and headed back towards the rowan tree.


	54. Chapter 53 - Ending

Chapter 53

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

The weeks passed, and - with Maleficent no longer bringing darkness to the land - the moors seemed only to grow more beautiful, lush and colourful with each passing day. Aurora delighted in her daily explorations of its wonders. She always discovered something or someone she had not yet seen. As she had predicted on that fateful day before her 16th birthday, all the fair folk indeed became her friends.

On one particularly sunny day, Aurora stood surrounded by those friends on the fairy mound in the centre of the moors. It was a day of excitement, and happiness. Taking the offered hand of a wallerbog, who grinned and blushed, Aurora allowed herself to be escorted up to where Maleficent and Diaval stood on the raised platform, waiting for her. Aurora gave her Godmother a wide smile, received a rare smile from Maleficent in return. Diaval grinned at them both.

"Hurry up, they're waiting!" From behind, the three fairies who had raised Aurora fluttered above the crowd, carrying between them a delicately wrought crown made from intertwined leaves of pure gold. Knotgrass spoke as the three arrived. "We present this crown to our little Aurora, for whom we have sacrificed the best years of our..." her voice trailed off as she caught sight of the warning expression on Maleficent's face. "...never mind."

Maleficent took the crown and, with a reverent smile, placed it upon Aurora's bowed head.

"Our kingdoms have been unified," she announced, turning to the assembled fair folk. "You have your queen!"

A cheer spread throughout the crowd, and Aurora grinned around at her friends. Then, looking back towards Maleficent and Diaval, her grin widened upon noticing that their fingers were entwined. Finally!

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Philip watching from a distance with a sweet smile brightening his handsome features. She marvelled at her Godmother's kindness and forgiveness in inviting him, despite her opinion of humans after all she had suffered at their hands. She gave him a happy nod, and he bowed to her in response.

Aurora barely noticed Maleficent and Diaval slip away together, leaving her to enjoy her moment as the new queen of the moors...

Stopping some distance away, in a shaded yet no less beautiful part of undergrowth, Maleficent turned to Diaval.

"I have something for you," she told him softly. His eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I told you I wanted you here, with me. But I also want you to be free," she explained. "So, my gift is for you to have the power to change your form at will." With a kiss, she released magic into him, and he pulled back in surprise at the new sensation. Experimentally, he willed himself into a raven. And a raven he became. Cawing in excitement, he fluttered around Maleficent before transforming - of his own will - back into a man.

"Thank you," he gasped reverently.

"Now, if you ever wish to leave, you can do so in whatever form you wish."

Diaval smiled sweetly and gave her a soft kiss. "I would spend the rest of my life slithering along the ground as a mealy worm if that thought ever cross my mind," he said firmly. Maleficent couldn't help but laugh at that, and he grinned back at her. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me...forever."

"Forever," Maleficent repeated, nodding happily. They kissed again.

And then, with Diaval transforming himself back into a raven, they took to the sky and disappeared up into the clouds, with the excited cheering of the happy moorfolk ringing sweetly in their ears.

And they all lived happily ever after.

**A/N: Until the next story, that is.**


End file.
